Vacation club is a collection of 148 self-catering units on the Sun City resort site operated by RCI. The units sleep 4-6 people. Two units share a wall and are distributed as 74 stand alone semi-detached buildings.
The age of the Vacation Club meant that the electric water geysers in the units were starting to fail. The major concern, apart from the replacement cost was the water damage to the units as well as the lost revenue as a result of the unavailability of the unit.
In addition the energy consumed by 148 x 4kW elements had a significant energy cost implication as well as a placing a constraint on the available power supply. Selected Energy designed a simple solution that is a perfect replica of the standard domestic retrofit solution. Each electric geyser was disconnected and replaced with a roof mounted solar water heater.
The net result is that the Vacation Club can make use of the abundant solar radiation and heat 44 000 litres of water to 55 °C. In addition in the event a tank bursts the water would not ruin the unit but instead run harmlessly down the gutter. Selected Energy chose Solahart products and opted for the 302J system. To meet aesthetic demands each tank was also clad in Colorbond® that matches the colour of the building.
The solution is at the time of writing too new for there to be meaningful proof of savings. However the estimates are that energy savings over the course of a year will be in the high hundreds of megawatt hours.
To download the case study click here.
The age of the Vacation Club meant that the electric water geysers in the units were starting to fail. The major concern, apart from the replacement cost was the water damage to the units as well as the lost revenue as a result of the unavailability of the unit.
In addition the energy consumed by 148 x 4kW elements had a significant energy cost implication as well as a placing a constraint on the available power supply. Selected Energy designed a simple solution that is a perfect replica of the standard domestic retrofit solution. Each electric geyser was disconnected and replaced with a roof mounted solar water heater.
The net result is that the Vacation Club can make use of the abundant solar radiation and heat 44 000 litres of water to 55 °C. In addition in the event a tank bursts the water would not ruin the unit but instead run harmlessly down the gutter. Selected Energy chose Solahart products and opted for the 302J system. To meet aesthetic demands each tank was also clad in Colorbond® that matches the colour of the building.
The solution is at the time of writing too new for there to be meaningful proof of savings. However the estimates are that energy savings over the course of a year will be in the high hundreds of megawatt hours.
To download the case study click here.
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