A Warrnambool swim school has reduced its gas bill by 65% after an energy upgrade
Leanne Williams, owner of South Coast Junior Aquatics, has reduced her gas bill by 65% by auditing and upgrading her swim school’s energy infrastructure.
Leanne has been running her swim school in Warrnambool for 16 years. But over the last five years her gas and electricity bills have doubled.
“I just thought energy bills were an unavoidable cost of doing business,” she told us.
To help figure out her options, Leanne applied for one of our Gas Efficiency Grants.
It allowed her to pay for an energy auditor, who identified the biggest opportunities for reducing energy consumption.
With support of the grant, Leanne made some upgrades based on the audit recommendations.
She invested in:
- solar panels covering her roof
- pool blankets to decrease the loss of pool heat overnight
- an industrial hot water heat pump that is powered by her solar panels.
In just two months, her gas bill has reduced from $2600 to $890. And she expects it to reduce even further.
Energy upgrades benefit more than the bottom line
She says her sustainability improvements have become a point of distinction for her business.
“Young parents are keen to support local businesses that share their sustainability values. They care about their children’s future, and they want to support businesses that are doing the right thing by our planet.”
The future is renewable
Leanne is now looking to efficiency and renewables as a way of reducing overheads.
She’s one of the few business owners who looks forward to receiving their energy bills and is eager to tally up her savings over a full 12 months.
Now an advocate for energy efficiency, she’s sharing her story with other swim centres and her customers.
Resources for aquatic centres
You can also download a guide for water metering and monitoring in aquatic centres and a guide to energy efficiency water heating technology for aquatic centres.