Re-energising Perth's Eastern Region

About the project

EMRC received nearly $647,000 in co-funding from the Australian Government for the $1.4 million Re-energising Perth's Eastern Region regional project. EMRC, Town of Bassendean, City of Bayswater and Shire of Mundaring collaborated to undertake much needed energy efficiency upgrades and retrofits at four community facilities. These included:

• street lighting on Old Perth Road in the Town of Bassendean
• internal lighting and air conditioning at Bayswater Community Library in the City of Bayswater
• pool pump efficiency, and internal lighting at Bayswater Waves Aquatic Centre in the City of Bayswater
• solar pool water heating, plant upgrades and pool pump efficiency at Bilgoman Aquatic Centre in the Shire of Mundaring.

The audit reports confirm that:

• energy consumption has actually reduced by 40.7 per cent across the four facilities
• energy use has reduced by around 829,790 kilowatt-hours
• this is the equivalent of the annual consumption of 134 average Perth households
• greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by 552 tonnes CO2-e
• energy cost savings alone are around $133,450 for the participating councils.

The project met all of its objectives, as well as the objectives of the Community Energy Efficiency Program. The benefits include:

• improved energy efficiency
• reduced energy and maintenance costs
• reduced greenhouse gas emissions
• improved, safer lighting
• improved air movement, quality, temperature and comfort
• improved pool water circulation, temperature and comfort
• demonstrated, proven energy efficiency technologies.

The project also promoted energy efficiency across Perth's Eastern Region and the facilities provide an excellent showcase for a more widespread adoption of efficiency technologies such as LED and Variable Speed Drives in the broader community.

Old Perth Road Street Lighting

The Town of Bassendean upgraded street lighting on Old Perth Road with LED luminaires at the end of June 2013. The results have been energy savings, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, lower electricity costs, lower maintenance costs and better lighting for the safety and security of the community. LED is the latest technology in energy efficient lighting. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, a semiconductor device that converts electricity efficiently into light. LED luminaires also last over twice as long as conventional lighting.

The street lighting of Old Perth Road has been upgraded to AS/NZS 1158 Category P3. The upgrade involved the replacement of 56 old-style 70 Watt (W) high pressure sodium lamps on Old Perth Road from the train station to West Road with energy efficient 25 W Sylvania StreetLED luminaires fitted to the 4.5 m poles and 60 W Sylvania Paleo LED luminaires fitted to the 6 m poles, as well as an upgrade to the wiring and control gear to reduce energy losses.

The new LED lamps along Old Perth Road use around 38% of the previous power, which is a reduction in energy use of 11,676 kWh. This is an efficiency gain of 62.1%, with much improved amenity for the public by way of increased visibility and safety.

The Town of Bassendean launched the upgrades at the Bassendean Library building on 17 December 2013 including a presentation from the LED supplier, Sylvania Lighting, on the benefits of the technology. The Town has installed street signage along Old Perth Road to promote the project.

Bayswater Public Library

The City of Bayswater retrofitted internal lighting with LED globes and upgraded the air conditioning system with a new, efficient model at the Bayswater Public Library during late 2013. The outcomes have included energy savings, decreased maintenance costs, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, lower electricity costs, better lighting for the community using the library and higher comfort levels throughout the year.

In February 2015, a final energy audit was undertaken which has shown that electricity use at Bayswater Library has actually reduced by 34.7%, with a reduction in energy consumption of 25,614 kWh. This is an annual cost saving of around $7,960 to the City.

As part of the lighting retrofit, 181 fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent globes, incandescent globes and a metal halide floodlight were replaced with equivalent LED luminaires. The installation of the lighting was completed in September 2013 by Perth company Cable Logic.

The new air conditioning system is a more efficient model which includes an economy cycle and uses a smaller amount of energy to circulate a greater volume of conditioned air, increasing air quality and the level of comfort. The installation of the new air conditioning system was completed in December 2013 by KD Aire.

The upgrades at the library were officially launched by City of Bayswater's Mayor on 22 January 2014. The launch included a community presentation on reducing energy consumption and power bills by sustainability expert Chris Ferreira of the Forever Project.

Bayswater Waves Aquatic Centre

The City of Bayswater retrofitted internal lighting with LED globes at the Bayswater Waves Aquatic Centre and retrofitted Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) to pool pumps during early 2014. The outcomes have included increased energy efficiency, decreased maintenance costs, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, lower electricity costs, better lighting for the patrons of the facility, including the health club, better visibility for safety in the indoor pools and improved water circulation.

In May 2015, a final energy audit was undertaken which confirms that electricity use has reduced by 25.3%, with a reduction in energy use of 645,520 kWh. This result represents an annual cost saving of around $104,980 to the City.

The installation of VSDs on 17 separate pool pump systems was completed in January 2014 with fine tuning of the settings continuing to May 2014. VSDs allow the speed of swimming pool pump motors to be adjusted, such as slowing them overnight when the pools are not in use, improving efficiency and extending the life of existing pumps. The installation was undertaken by local Bayswater company AMS Service and Maintenance Pty Ltd.

The LED lighting upgrade was completed in May 2014 by Perth company MMJ Electrical Pty Ltd. Approximately 860 fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent downlights, and metal halide downlights throughout the foyer, multi-purpose area, health club, cafe and change rooms were replaced by LED equivalents. The lighting upgrade has not only reduced energy consumption, it has also significantly decreased maintenance meaning that the facility has fewer days when it is closed to the public.

The upgrades at Bayswater Waves were launched at a community energy efficiency event on 6 August 2014. The launch included a community presentation on reducing energy consumption and power bills by sustainability expert Chris Ferreira of the Forever Project, and a tour of the facility.

Bilgoman Aquatic Centre

The Bilgoman Aquatic Centre in the Shire of Mundaring has undergone upgrades of its solar pool water heating, plant and pool pumps to substantially reduce energy consumption, improve the amenity for the community, and reduce maintenance requirements. These energy efficiency works were undertaken in conjunction with a much larger upgrade of the Bilgoman facility during 2014.

In May 2015, a final energy audit was undertaken to verify the savings achieved. In the 6 months since the completion of the upgrade, energy use at Bilgoman has actually reduced by 40.9%, with a reduction in energy consumption of 146,981 kWh. This result represents a cost saving of around $13,240 to the Shire.

Due the availability of the energy efficiency funding, capital expenditure was brought forward by the Shire of Mundaring to undertake their major upgrade of Bilgoman Aquatic Centre in 2014. The old swimming pool was decommissioned and demolished and a new aquatic facility designed and constructed. The concrete pool has been replaced with a pool that has a tiled finished surface. This is expected to save water, energy and money as the old pool required draining every three years so that walls could be repainted. As a result of these works, the surface area of the swimming pools has also increased slightly as the new facility is provided with a disabled access ramp and the two smaller leisure pools have been replaced with a larger, single leisure pool. A leak which was causing heated pool water to be lost has also been rectified.

The installation of the solar pool heating system was completed at the end of January 2014. The new system is more efficient, enabling a greater volume of water to be heated and reducing the amount of gas used for supplementary heating. This means that a higher, steadier pool temperature can be maintained over the summer months. The new system consists of 150 Solartherm panels enclosed in anodised marine grade aluminium covered by hail resistant polycarbonate sheets. The panels are linked to two pumps to maximise the heat transfer from the sun to the water flowing through the system. The system was designed and installed by Deluxe Pool Heating, who specialise in commercial and residential pool water heating systems.

The new pumps, plant and VSDs were installed during the closed season from April to October 2014 as part of the major upgrade works at Bilgoman being managed by Commercial Aquatics Australia. Variable Speed Drives or VSDs are electronic control systems which enable pump or fan speeds to be adjusted automatically. In the past, this has been used mainly in the air handling field for large air conditioning systems. For aquatic centres, this technology means that pool pumps can be adjusted to achieve the flow of water required at any given time, such as slowing them overnight when the pools are not in use.

Community Energy Efficiency Program (CEEP)

The CEEP is a competitive merit-based grant program that provides co-funding to local governing bodies and non-profit community organisations to implement projects that deliver a range of energy efficiency measures in council and community owned buildings, facilities and sites, and also demonstrate and encourage the adoption of improved energy management practices within councils, organisations and the broader community.

The EMRC was successful in its first round application for $647,000 in regional funding through the Australian Government, one of only seven WA recipients from 63 across Australia.

For further information please contact:

Wendy Harris - Chief Sustainability Officer
Email: Wendy.Harris@emrc.org.au 

The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein. These activities received funding from the Australian Government.