Leisure centres, especially those with swimming pools, use lots of energy. Steve Jamieson of REL Electrical, shares his experience of how to contain energy consumption and costs.

False alarms in a Southampton pub and live-music venue caused by smoke detectors responding to water vapour from vaping have been prevented by the installation of Nittan Evolution EV-DP dual-wavelength photo-electric smoke detectors. The Frog & Frigate is renowned for being a very lively venue where visitors are encouraged to get on the tables and sing along with the band. Vaping is permitted in the busy venue.

Faced with the installation challenges presented by castellated beams in phase 2 of Newry Leisure Centre in Northern Ireland, Kingspan KoolDuct delivery partner cg3Systems used this ductwork system to achieve a millimetre-perfect HVAC fit-out. This latest addition to Newry Leisure Centre includes 8-court and 4-court sports halls, handball and squash courts, dry changing facilities, fitness suite, soft-play and crèche areas, cafe and other facilities.

Gas consumption has been reduced by over 60% following the installation of a Dantherm air-handling unit at David Lloyd Leisure in Bristol after an old ventilation system in the swimming-pool hall began to run ineffectively. The DanX XKS system has a highly efficient crossflow heat exchanger to help control humidity and indoor temperature efficiently.

Hospitality areas in Liverpool FC’s new main stand at Anfield incorporate Gilberts’ grilles and diffusers on the recommendation of consultant Jacobs Engineering. They were installed by M&E contractor Imtech as part of the design-and-build project for Carillion under the first phase of the club’s stadium expansion programme.

While comfort is important to a hotel’s guests — and to the hotel itself — the energy associated with delivering that comfort is also important. Martin Passingham of Daikin UK explores innovative total climate-control solutions that reduce energy consumption, whilst creating the perfect indoor environment.

Upgrading the existing oil-fired LPHW and HWS circuits at a hotel operated by Amazing Venues group included the installation of four Mikrofill condensing boilers, two pressurisation packages and three Extreme HWS loading cylinders complete with unvented kits. The design for Stanbrook Abbey Hotel near Worcester was prepared by building-services consultants Energy Performance Solutions.

The supply of hot water for the Malvern Hills Caravan Club site is now plentiful and consistent following the installation of four Rinnai continuous-flow water heaters to replace two storage water heaters. The site has 210 pitches and is especially busy from Easter right through to October.

Combined heat and power (CHP) can often provide a very cost-effective energy-saving solution for hotels and leisure projects, says Chris Marsland of Ener-G.

The forthcoming changes to refrigerants driven by F-Gas regulations; legislation on leak detection; and the need to achieve minimum energy standards within commercial buildings mean that change is coming to our sector. Mark Grayston of Mitsubishi Electric explores the issues behind the changes and the options available.

Hotels can make substantial energy savings using voltage optimisation to effectively regulate the mains voltage. Stuart Clegg of Powerstar explores the opportunities.