Victoria Racing Club sets the pace in the energy saving stakes
March 6, 2012
In the lead up to the 2011 Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) trusted their long time air conditioning and buildings services partner, AE Smith, to design a pilot program and install an automation system on select refrigeration plant at Flemington Racecourse.
The results? Day one energy savings of 94% in refrigerated energy consumption and running costs.
This VRC pilot project is the first of its kind and is aimed at providing on-going energy savings by intelligent control of the refrigeration equipment at Flemington Racecourse.
Given the nature of the facility, the refrigeration plant was generally only required during major functions at the racecourse, yet the plant operated under constant full-refrigerated conditions 24 hours a day.
The VRC hosts more than 300 events at Flemington annually, ranging from weddings and corporate functions through to music festivals and 23 race meets. In 2011 the Melbourne Cup Carnival attracted some 350,000 people over four days with a huge crowd of 106,000 venturing out on Emirates Melbourne Cup Day alone.
Flemington Executive General Manager Mark Davies explains "it's a really diverse venue and our aim is to be a venue of choice that is recognised for more than racing.
"Being a venue the size that we are and being such an iconic site we wanted to make sure that the way we ran our business was environmentally sustainable. Over the last few years we have focused on saving water and waste. Now we are focused on saving energy.
"We've been working with AE Smith for many years now. In particular we have been working on ways to reduce our energy usage after an audit in 2011 showed just how much of our consumption was related to HVAC and refrigeration. It is our third biggest user of energy. "
Davies, who has spent nine years with the VRC, the last two in his current role, said he began talks with AE Smith in June 2011.
He explains "our challenge to AE Smith was how to best manage peak demand and cool room temperatures in such a way that it was still safe for food with no wastage or spoilage; while at the same time reduce our running costs and energy consumption.
"AE Smith took the time to hear what was really important to us and find the right outcome. They came back with a tailored solution that resulted in a pilot program we decided to trial for a few months. During the trial we saw exactly what our energy habits were and saw what a big difference the solution they came up with made. We also got our catering suppliers involved to make sure we optimised the cooling temperature for service.
"We were surprised by how much energy could be saved by varying the temperature by only a few degrees. We knew it didn't make sense to run the fridges at maximum cooling capacity 24/7, yet we needed to find the right balance and, importantly, automate the process. AE Smith helped us achieve this perfectly."
Davies adds that being able to control and monitor refrigeration plant via the Internet has also proved invaluable, stating "the trial showed that we were conservatively saving energy between 20% and 22% and that was during our peak periods. We expect to find even greater savings as we continue to test more often during non-peak times."
Davies said the next step is to roll out the program across all refrigeration equipment at Flemington, further reducing power usage and the workload of the equipment, stating "the latter wasn't a direct goal yet we can see how reducing the workload of the plant and equipment will mean it enjoys greater longevity and saves on maintenance costs too. That was a nice surprise ï¾ more productivity and fewer breakdowns.
"Being involved in this trial means we are helping to set a benchmark in the field of refrigeration. Being innovative is important to us, not only to save costs but also to benefit the community by being a sustainable business that is kinder to the environment. We look forward to fu
The results? Day one energy savings of 94% in refrigerated energy consumption and running costs.
This VRC pilot project is the first of its kind and is aimed at providing on-going energy savings by intelligent control of the refrigeration equipment at Flemington Racecourse.
Given the nature of the facility, the refrigeration plant was generally only required during major functions at the racecourse, yet the plant operated under constant full-refrigerated conditions 24 hours a day.
The VRC hosts more than 300 events at Flemington annually, ranging from weddings and corporate functions through to music festivals and 23 race meets. In 2011 the Melbourne Cup Carnival attracted some 350,000 people over four days with a huge crowd of 106,000 venturing out on Emirates Melbourne Cup Day alone.
Flemington Executive General Manager Mark Davies explains "it's a really diverse venue and our aim is to be a venue of choice that is recognised for more than racing.
"Being a venue the size that we are and being such an iconic site we wanted to make sure that the way we ran our business was environmentally sustainable. Over the last few years we have focused on saving water and waste. Now we are focused on saving energy.
"We've been working with AE Smith for many years now. In particular we have been working on ways to reduce our energy usage after an audit in 2011 showed just how much of our consumption was related to HVAC and refrigeration. It is our third biggest user of energy. "
Davies, who has spent nine years with the VRC, the last two in his current role, said he began talks with AE Smith in June 2011.
He explains "our challenge to AE Smith was how to best manage peak demand and cool room temperatures in such a way that it was still safe for food with no wastage or spoilage; while at the same time reduce our running costs and energy consumption.
"AE Smith took the time to hear what was really important to us and find the right outcome. They came back with a tailored solution that resulted in a pilot program we decided to trial for a few months. During the trial we saw exactly what our energy habits were and saw what a big difference the solution they came up with made. We also got our catering suppliers involved to make sure we optimised the cooling temperature for service.
"We were surprised by how much energy could be saved by varying the temperature by only a few degrees. We knew it didn't make sense to run the fridges at maximum cooling capacity 24/7, yet we needed to find the right balance and, importantly, automate the process. AE Smith helped us achieve this perfectly."
Davies adds that being able to control and monitor refrigeration plant via the Internet has also proved invaluable, stating "the trial showed that we were conservatively saving energy between 20% and 22% and that was during our peak periods. We expect to find even greater savings as we continue to test more often during non-peak times."
Davies said the next step is to roll out the program across all refrigeration equipment at Flemington, further reducing power usage and the workload of the equipment, stating "the latter wasn't a direct goal yet we can see how reducing the workload of the plant and equipment will mean it enjoys greater longevity and saves on maintenance costs too. That was a nice surprise ï¾ more productivity and fewer breakdowns.
"Being involved in this trial means we are helping to set a benchmark in the field of refrigeration. Being innovative is important to us, not only to save costs but also to benefit the community by being a sustainable business that is kinder to the environment. We look forward to fu
