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Case Study

Chippendale Retirement Village

Energy-efficient hot water for all residents

Chippendale Retirement Village

shower over bath

Electric Systems Upgraded

25

Finance graphs

Savings per Household

$540 p/a

board

Total Number of Homes Upgraded

34

Chippendale Retirement Village Modbury.

Located in Modbury, South Australia, the Chippendale retirement village encompasses 42 independent living units. 34 of these units have been upgraded to energy efficient heat pump hot water systems by Ecovantage. The upgrade includes replacement of one electric unit in the retirement village community centre. 

All the residents chose the Ecogenica 215L hot water systems for their upgrade, considering its lower out-of-pocket cost and energy usage.

The Upgrade.

Most of the residents had inefficient hot water systems older than 10 years with poor heating capacity and high maintenance requirements. A total of nine residents capped the gas connection to the property, bringing their homes one step closer to energy efficiency.

Detailed steps were taken to install and integrate the heat pumps into the existing infrastructure; however, two hot water systems were relocated to a better location due to space constraints.

Chippendale Retirement Village driveway

Installation.

34 x Ecogenica 215L hot water systems were installed, each with a rated power usage of less than a kilowatt. The old systems included 25 electric hot water units consuming 3.6 kW of input power, three of which were gravity-fed systems.

Additionally, nine gas instantaneous units were also replaced. The gravity fed systems were decommissioned and all other hot water systems were decommissioned and removed from the site.

Chippendale Retirement Village aerial view

Challenges.

To take advantage of the maximum available rebate  for properties with a gas connection, gas capping was required. Coordinating gas capping and installation of the new units was carefully planned by Ecovantage. 

The service provider needs to schedule an appointment with residents for gas capping. Since the service provider couldn’t provide a turnaround time to cap off the gas connections, the team at Ecovantage had to be ready to arrange the installation as soon as the capping occurred  as capping the gas would leave the residence with no hot water.

Ecovantage successfully executed this through constant communication with the customers and careful consideration of installer availability and logistics.

Gas hot water

Old Rheem instantaneous gas hot water unit

The Rebate.

The Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme, administered by the Essential Services Commission, offers incentives for South Australian households and businesses to adopt energy efficient technology. A similar federal scheme, Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs), is also available for energy efficient upgrades such as heat pumps. As an Accredited Provider, Ecovantage is able to generate these rebates, thanks to the reduction of energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions, which in turn, helps residents reduce the upfront cost of these upgrades.

Heat pump installed at Chippendale Retirement Village

New Ecogenica hot water unit

yes  Lower water heating costs

yes  Reduced carbon footprint

yes  Up front savings thanks to government initiated rebates

“I am very happy with the heat pump I had recently installed in my unit.
The young installers were very polite, friendly and chatty. They took away the old unit and tidied up after themselves. The new tank looks much better than the old unit, especially since it was all rusty and leaking. All the residents have now made the upgrade and it was managed really well.”

Veronica, Village Resident

“As manager of the village I found working with Ecovantage very professional. They were very responsive and quick to resolve any queries or issues. The representative showed a strong commitment to empowering the residents with knowledge, and ensuring customer satisfaction. Most impressive, and highly recommended.”

Margy Nolan, Village Manager

For more information on how Ecovantage can help your business achieve its sustainability goals, contact us today. Together, we can make a difference.

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