Now you know we get all hyped up when talking about innovation, sustainability, and energy consumption. I’m talking fist-pumping. I’m talking raised voices. I’m talking group high fives.
Then imagine the scope of our excitement when we heard about the fantastic system the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) has put in place to help reduce their energy footprint, and effectively eliminate the high cost of air conditioning. This puts USC squarely in the realm of sustainable cooling, and we like that!
To embrace Australia’s steady supply of sunshine, they have teamed up with renewable energy solutions experts at Veolia and installed over 6000 solar panels to power a “water battery” that will cut energy use by 40% – a first for an Australian university.
“Air conditioning accounts for 40 per cent of our daily energy usage, so by eliminating this we are taking a major step towards our carbon neutral goal. For a regional university to be leading the way on this is proof that we don’t need to be in the big cities to be taking big strides in new ideas in renewables, and for us that’s very exciting. This technology has the potential to change the way energy is stored at scale and we are hoping other organisations take inspiration and indeed copy us. The team behind this is already sharing the technology with schools, universities and companies around the world.” – Professor Hill
It just goes to show that by working together and keeping our minds geared toward building a better future, we can achieve great things. Though the journey may be slow and starts small, it can have a significant impact if it catches on. There is an incredible opportunity for us as industry leaders to shape our built environments towards a sustainable future. The survival of all industries relies on how we, the designers and developers of the world, structure and formulate our ideas, and it is vital to educate our youth, who are the guardians of this world of the future.
“USC is using the technology to teach student engineers, designers and leaders of the future, while staff and students are able to track our energy savings through real-time monitoring across the campus.” – Professor Hill