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Waikato District Council is making the switch from gas to electricity to heat swimming pools at Huntly Aquatic Centre, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the process.

The Council has received $158,000 of funding from New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) Technology Demonstration fund, for local government to replace a gas boiler with a new electric heat pump system. The heat pump system will heat the indoor spaces, showers and other hot water, as well as the pool.

The change to electricity is expected to reduce the Council’s Corporate emissions by approximately 14% each year, or 153 tonnes of CO2-e emissions annually, taking effect in 2024.

This change aligns with Council’s Climate Resilience and Response Plan and commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Waikato Council Chief Executive, Gavin Ion is grateful for EECA‘s support on this project, noting “the funding enables us to act on our commitments within our Climate Resilience and Response Plan and I want to acknowledge the efforts by staff and the region’s energy advisor Martin Lynch, who led the application process.”

EECA Chief Executive, Andrew Caseley adding "electrified heating of local government-owned swimming pools is an obvious decarbonisation opportunity. There is still significant use of fossil fuel boilers to heat pool water and space heating of indoor pools, all of which can be achieved with the use of high-efficiency industrial heat pumps.

"There is an opportunity to further deploy heat pump technology in aquatic centres around New Zealand, and this co-funding for local government decarbonisation projects will help address persisting barriers to uptake."

The project is estimated to cost $395,000 and installation will begin in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Council is developing a Climate Strategy and Roadmap to align projects with targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Immediate projects include increasing the number of hybrid vehicles in Council’s fleet and introducing fully electric vehicles and chargers, planned for late 2022.

Click here for more information on Waikato District Council’s Climate Action responses.

Image courtesy of Waikato District Council.

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