Staff members Judit Pilisi (Duty Manager) Dervlla Considine (Duty Manager) Eoin Conlon (General Manager)and Jamie Fitzgibbon (Supervisor) at the newly opened Lahich Leisure Centre. Photograph: Natasha Barton.ย 

A NEWLY renovated leisure centre in North-West Clare claims to be among the most green and sustainable facilities of its type in the country.

Lahinch Leisure Centre reopened to the public on Friday (April 22nd) following conclusion of a โ‚ฌ6m refurbishment which took over two and a half years to complete and includes the provision of 120 solar panels on the roof of the building.

During this time, there was a strong shift from use of fossil fuels to sustainable energy in the facility, General Manager Eoin Conlon explained. โ€œWe put a lot of emphasis on the development on energy management systems, weโ€™ve transitioned from a heavy fossil fuel system and really developed the sustainable side of things. Weโ€™ve 120 solar panels, we also burn wood pellets so there isnโ€™t oil burners, weโ€™ve two wood pellet boilers and also have geo-thermal heat pumps, weโ€™ve gone completely away from the fossil fuel area and to sustainable energyโ€.

He outlined, โ€œall of the VA2 systems are developed by recycling plastic bottles, the VA2 systems would be again on that sustainable aspect of it, thereโ€™s been fabulous work done by Tipp Energy and Kellyโ€™s RAC in developing those systems. Weโ€™re very excited to be able to do that in this day and age to develop something where our carbon footprint is lessenedโ€.

While unsure on the exact amount of plastic bottles used, Eoin said their presence was critical to the development. โ€œThe VA2 system is made up of a sock almost and the air is filtered through the sock, all the air is pushed out through this sock, the material in it was developed through the recycling of plastic bottles, it is not a plastic aspect, it was developed through recycling those bottlesโ€.

According to the Doora native, the location of the centre directly opposite the sea underlines the importance of the climate to the people in the area. โ€œFor the area weโ€™re in with the sea and the environment around us, it is something that people are very aware of and weโ€™ve really concentrated on thatโ€.

Having previously held similar roles in Limerick and Killaloe, Eoin was adamant that Lahinch Leisure Centre could now class itself as one of the most green and sustainable leisure centres on the island of Ireland. โ€œI would imagine we would have developed a lot of the systems on that basis, we would have been leading in that. Tipp Energy and the SEAI have been auditing the leisure centre recently in terms of that, they have been extremely happy with how the results have gone. We have 120 solar panels on the roof so you can see exactly how weโ€™re using the energy which is available at reception to see, you can see the amount of kilowatts per hour that we initiate with the solar panels. With the wood pellets, it is another sustainable product and the heat pumps are geo-thermal so the heat is coming from the earth. We are one of the leading leisure centres in the country with regards to sustainabilityโ€.

Pool temperatures will be maintained by geo-thermal energy, he stated. โ€œThe wood pellet burner would do the heating system for the facility itself like the heat from the VA2 system which pumps in the hot air when needed, the solar panels on a good day will be generating 90 percent if not more of our own electricity through the solar panels, on a dull day we might need a little back up from the grid but generally speaking we might even be in excess for most of the summer generating our own electricity through solar panels and possibly adding back to the gridโ€.

Related News

michael lorigan 1
Kilkee woman to enter guilty plea for dangerous driving causing death of 'inspirational' school teacher
รฉire รณg v st josephs doora barefield 12-10-25 jack daly 1
Civic reception requested for historic ร‰ire ร“g senior champions
court seat
Father tells court he did not know his son had been circumcised
catherine connolly noreen lynch 1
Irish Presidential front-runner Connolly dodges media during Mid-West stop
Latest News
michael lorigan 1
Kilkee woman to enter guilty plea for dangerous driving causing death of 'inspirational' school teacher
รฉire รณg v st josephs doora barefield 12-10-25 jack daly 1
Civic reception requested for historic ร‰ire ร“g senior champions
o'callaghans mills vs clarecastle 19-10-25 aidan o'gorman 3
Mighty Mills seal senior return to keep Magpies at intermediate
court seat
Father tells court he did not know his son had been circumcised
raymond o'mahony david reidy 1-2
Reidy revels in the big day to deliver player of the week performance
Premium
Father tells court he did not know his son had been circumcised
Madden hopeful Mills can lift the roof in PIHC decider
Daniels helps deliver historic success for ร‰ire ร“g
Inagh/Kilnamona win senior camogie championship for fifth time
Foudy & Inagh/Kilnamona looking to bridge five year gap for senior success

Advertisement

Subscribe for just โ‚ฌ3 per month

If youโ€™re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just โ‚ฌ3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter โ‚ฌ8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.