De Scheg sports complex becoming more sustainable, but can’t get off gas completely
CFP Green Buildings was commissioned by Sport & Bewegen to investigate how sports clubs can meet the climate objectives for 2050. It turns out that four out of five sports clubs can go sustainable cost-effectively. In this series we will highlight the five sports facilities that were investigated. In this article, we zoom in on sports complex De Scheg in Deventer.
Energy scan
De Scheg is part of a larger sports complex, Sportbedrijf Deventer. Built in 1992, it features an ice rink, a swimming pool and several sports halls. A number of sustainability measures were already implemented here between 2014 and 2016, such as installing solar panels, covering swimming pools to maintain the water temperature and reusing the heat from drain water. These measures resulted in a 40% reduction in CO2 from 1990 levels. But what does that leave De Scheg to do now to become more sustainable? Project developer CFP Green Buildings mapped this out with an energy scan.
Improvement scenario
For the improvement scenario, CFP looked at additional measures to remain compliant with legislation and regulations on the way to 2030. These include optimisation of the heating lines and energy management. De Scheg has many building systems providing opportunities to save energy by optimally setting times and temperatures. The scan found that replacing outdoor lighting and the lighting around the track with LEDs would reduce CO2 consumption by 46% compared to 1990. So that’s what De Scheg has done now. The earn-back period of this scenario is three years.
Another point of attention: the ice rink in De Scheg consumes a lot of electricity. The heat released from making the ice now goes towards heating the swimming pool – that reduces the gas consumption for heating the pool by a lot, but making De Scheg self-sufficient on electricity is still going to be almost impossible. That is why it’s important to source the additional power in the greenest possible way. Doing all this will put De Scheg in a position to meet and beat the legal requirements for 2030 (49% CO2 reduction): in fact, De Scheg is on track for total CO2 reductions of 74% CO2.
Visionary scenario
De Scheg still has to keep reducing its energy consumption on the way to 2050. To make measures as cost-effective as possible, it’s important to implement them at natural moments. For example, the current solar panels are due for replacement by 2035, and could then be replaced by thermal PV panels. The sports complex can also improve the roof insulation during the next major maintenance.
“By using thermal solar panels, you create a win-win situation. The water – which flows under the PV panels – is already partly heated in the process of generating electricity. That saves energy. On top of that, the water cools the solar panels at the same time, which makes them yield more.”
– Youp van der Zande, consultant at CFP Green Buildings
The heat pumps currently available are not suitable for De Scheg. The swimming pool needs a high temperature, current heat pump technology does not yet offer a workable solution. That means getting off gas completely is just not an option for De Scheg at present. It is advisable for the sports complex to follow the technical developments, such as deep geothermal energy. With the visionary scenario, De Scheg would achieve 99% CO2 reduction with earn-back time of 17.5 years.
Sustainable maintenance
De Scheg is working on a new multi-year maintenance plan. With the in-depth analysis, sustainability measures can take place at natural moments, creating a sustainable multi-year maintenance plan. Then, with a guarantee from the Stichting Waarborgfonds Sport in combination with the sustainable multi-year maintenance plan, the measures become very cost-effective indeed.
Want to get started with sustainability?
Do you want to know how you perform compared to other sports clubs or do you want to know more about which steps you can take as a sports accommodation to become more sustainable the cost-effective way? Then take a look at Sport NL Green (NL) or contact us.
