The course at Coventry Golf Club is no longer the only thing that’s green, as the golf club installed various energy saving solutions including a solar PV array.
The 3.6kWp system installed by Rexel will save 5 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere per year. Over 12 months the club generated £1,500 of income through the feed-in tariff scheme and benefitted from 25 percent reduction to its energy bills.
Over the lifetime of the tariff, the solar array is expected to generate approximately £56,000 of revenue, a substantial contribution to long-term revenue streams.
Brian Smithers, Business Development Director at Rexel UK explains, “Coventry Golf Club is a perfect candidate for solar panelling because of all the natural light. The lack of shade on the roof provided an ideal environment for the photovoltaic solar panel array, not only reducing the club’s carbon footprint but also generating long-term revenue.”
The solar panel installation formed part of a wider solution to radically downsize the carbon footprint of the golf club, in order to insulate themselves from future energy bill rises.
The Coventry Golf Club enlisted the help of Rexel to undertake a full survey of its facilities to identify how the club could benefit from energy saving technologies.
Rexel advised the club to firstly deploy energy saving lighting technology including LEDs, presence detection and daylight harvesting to reduce its electricity bill. Secondly, Rexel gave advice for metering and controlling to facilitate further savings such as water heating timers, ‘A’ rated energy efficient appliances and behavioural changes such as rearranging maintenance to coincide with the lowest energy tariffs.
Phil Weaver, Course Manager, said: “Rexel’s recommendations have proved hugely beneficial, and point to substantial short and long-term cost savings. Understandably, in these economically challenging times, golf clubs nationwide are focusing on reducing costs across the board – Coventry Golf Club included. From our perspective the technology makes sound fiscal sense. Helping to save the planet while saving money is an absolute no-brainer.”
Weaver concluded: “Here at Coventry Golf Club we believe that we have a responsibility to manage the golf course using environmental best practice. Rexel has demonstrated perfectly how modern technologies can generate cost savings without impacting on the manner in which we go about our daily club life.”
