Isle of Wight pool first to use innovative renewable heating and hot water system  

A ground-breaking renewable heating system has been installed at Isle-of-Wight based youth charity UKSA - thanks to a £50,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund.  

The UK Sailing Academy (UKSA) is a charity focused on youth development both on and off the water and its indoor heated pool is now a 'green' pool, boasting an innovative heating and hot water system - the first of its type ever to be installed.  

Island company Minus7 were the brains behind the system, which uses endo-thermic panels on the roof of the pool building to harvest energy - and Minus7 technical director Alastair Hunter believes the new system will save the charity some £2,500 a year in running costs, and will help to reduce the facility's carbon output by 11,830kg.  

The energy can be collected from air temperatures as low as -7c, and is delivered to a heat store (solar energy processor) which heats the pool water. This makes the pool heating a completely sustainable green energy source, removing the need for gas.   

Any spare heat from the pool then feeds into the kit-drying rooms. These rooms now run on an automatic system that turns the mains boiler off for the green heating to kick in, and turns back on when the green energy needs replenishing. Left-over heat from this process then feeds into a cold store which services the air conditioning in another large room - a system that has also been installed with sustainability in mind, as it only switches on when triggered by movement.  

Chris Frisby, facilities manager at UKSA, said: "This grant from the Big Lottery Fund paid for 50% of the cost for us to lead the way environmentally and install this state-of-the-art system. Previously we used gas to heat the pool and now we have massively reduced our carbon footprint by switching to renewable energy.  

"It is also saving us money, which clearly is important for us as a charity. The system is working extremely effectively and we are really happy with it. Over the last year we recorded 17,500 visits to the pool, so on behalf of all those pool users, I would like to say a huge thank you to the Big Lottery Fund."  

Anyone interested in the technology behind the system can visit the site, by appointment only. Contact UKSA reception on 01983 294941.  

ENDS