Two local rowing clubs have come together and been successful in obtaining a micro-grant through +CityxChange Open Innovation Call 3, St Michael’s Rowing Club and Shannon Rowing Club, both located in the heart of Limerick city are integral parts of the city community. Old sporting rivals, they have come together to collaborate with the ambition to decarbonise club buildings and operations.
St Michael’s Rowing Club recently added 8 solar panels for electricity production and this has been a great success. With their Open Innovation Call 3 micro-grant they will now install a heat pump to heat shower water and by doing so will decarbonise their hot water usage. They also plan to add 4 additional solar panels and a web enabled energy logger on their electricity meter. This will allow the club to track the energy generated by the PV panel, the heat pump and the energy used from the grid.
Shannon Rowing Club plan to use their grant to install a ground-mounted PV system powering a heat pump to generate hot water for club showers and changing rooms, and toilet/bar areas. By doing so the club can decarbonise their heating system and generate their own power on site. Using the PV to supply the energy for the heat pump. Shannon Rowing Club want to demonstrate how a heritage building can engage with the energy transition through adopting new clean energy technology. They will reduce natural gas use and shift to energy efficient heat pumps which are energy multipliers.
The Clubs aim to share their Decarbonisation journey and encourage other sporting organisations to examine their energy needs by holding a Solar & Renewable Energy EXPO in both locations. Installing renewables such as solar panels, as well as reducing energy costs, has income generation potential for sports clubs who often struggle to fund their activities.
