The Inveresk Green Precinct Project: Towards Energy and Water
Sustainability focussed on cost effective changes to existing buildings to achieve energy and water savings. The project was based at the Launceston
City Council owned Aurora Stadium and the Queen Victoria Museum and Art
Gallery (QVMAG) located in Inveresk. A further program called EcoSmartBiz assisted and encouraged local small businesses to carry out their own efficiency measures.
The objectives for the Inveresk Green Precinct Project were to:

Minimise energy and water consumption in the Aurora Stadium and
QVMAG using cost effective measures

Encourage and educate the community to carry out similar achievement using the sites as a demonstration
The Inveresk Green Precinct Project was completed in March 2012. The outcomes have been excellent and both facilities have been reinvigorated with state of the art efficiency systems and infrastructure. The facilities are now well established to be valuable and informative demonstrations to the public.
This report provides an overview of the following:

QVMAG

Aurora Stadium

EcoSmartBiz project with small businesses

Community Engagement
The $1.576m Inveresk Green Precinct Project received $788,000 from the
Australian Government’s Green Precincts Fund. It was one of 13 sites around the country to receive funding for water and energy saving projects under the
Green Precincts Fund.
Tasmania's highest profile sporting facility, Aurora Stadium is a multi purpose venue that has played host to a variety of events ranging from a Rugby World
Cup to regular AFL fixtures involving the Hawthorn Football Club at their
Tasmanian home away from home. The QVMAG is located within the former railyards site is the largest museum and art gallery in Australia located outside a capital city.
The Inveresk Precinct has positioned itself as a community hub of culture, creativity, innovation and recreation. There are few other places where there is such a combination of sporting facilities, educational institutions, a gallery and museum, as well as a host of other community and commercial facilities.

Both facilities are ideally placed to be the central location and focus for raising awareness and encouraging the uptake of efficiency measures by individuals, households, commerce and industry. In particular the project demonstrates how to make cost effective efficiency changes to existing and old buildings that improve the functionality of the facilities whilst saving energy and water.
The focus at the QVMAG Museum was to reduce energy consumption in all parts of the facility. Following the initial energy audit a list of opportunities was gathered and those with the best outcome were chosen to be implemented.
The outcome of the energy efficiency works was a reduction in electrical consumption of 27 per cent. This equates to 425,000kWh saved per year.
Lighting
Lighting accounts for 25 per cent of total energy usage in each of the facilities.
This then was an obvious area of research and trial to find suitable efficient lights. Another issue to overcome was the very large number of different light fittings and lighting requirement in both facilities so each area had to be assessed individually. The following upgrades were implemented:

Standard fluorescent lights were changed to efficient T5 lights with electronic ballasts halving energy consumption whilst maintaining light levels

In selected areas fluorescent fittings were delamped which involves removing both the tubes and installing a single new quad phosphor tube with a reflector.

LED down lights replaced standard halogen lights saving 70 per cent energy.

LED flood lights were installed for outside night time security lighting

LED strip lighting for museum cabinet displays

Compact fluorescent lights

Motion sensors and lux controls to automatically turn lights off and on
In addition to changing the types of lights we also changed the way they operated by employing smart controls.
A Dynalite timer system was installed to control the display lights in both the
John Lees Atrium and the Temporary Gallery to turn on at a predetermined time just prior to the public opening each morning. The system allows just a few lights to turn on when staff first arrive so they can do their inspections in the gallery. Then the remaining gallery lights automatically turn on at 9.50am before the public opening at 10.00am. The Potter Gallery also has a Dynalite lighting system but it was installed separately as it is on another circuit.
Heating and ventilation
The heating/cooling system is the largest energy using element at QVMAG.
Typically air handling units are set up to take in outside air to ensure sufficient fresh air is inside the building. However, during times when rooms are

unoccupied it is possible to reduce the outside air intake thus reducing the volume of air requiring heating or cooling. CO2 sensors were installed in the main rooms and when levels drop below a set point the outside air dampers close off completely and air is recirculated in the system. The CO2 control will provide significant savings based on reduced heating/cooling load by optimising the use of recirculated air in the building.
Radiant heater control
Radiant heaters mounted on the ceiling are used in several buildings during winter. Typically the heaters were left on over night as the rooms were too cold in the morning. An automated timer was installed so if the rooms were to be used the following day a button was pressed which initiated a timer relay.
This then automatically tuned the heaters on at a predetermined time, typically about two hours before the rooms were used.
Timer relays
The lighting system in the John Lees, Railway and Planetarium Galleries have also been upgraded with a new timer system. In these galleries a special clock was installed so that when staff arrive in the morning just a few lights turn on in each gallery so the staff can carry out normal duties. Then just before opening to the public all the remaining gallery lights turn on. This saves around two hours of full lighting load each day.
Other project benefits
Other than the obvious benefit of reduced four energy costs the work has resulted in some other advantages. The use of LED lights increases the life of the fixtures and minimise maintenance costs. The lights run cooler than the old lights also minimising cooling costs in summer.
The use of presence and lux sensors means the lights turn on and off automatically which staff readily get used to and it means lights are no longer left on over night.
The use of LED lights has been embraced by QVMAG employees for exhibit lighting through out the museum as this lighting has no UV and is available in many different forms which suit the large range of displays requirements.
The knowledge gained from this project has been used in other council facilities to reduce energy consumption and improve lighting conditions.
Water Efficiency
The majority of water consumption at the ground is used for toilet flushing and irrigation. The project focussed on capturing rain water from the stadium roofs and storing for use in toilets around the ground. The new northern stand was fitted out with water tanks holding 36,000 litres of rain water. The Railway

Workers Hill was fitted with tanks to store 75,000 litres and the adjacent
Invermay Park has tanks to store 60,000 litres of water. The building management system is linked to all storages so water usage can be calculated.
The irrigation of the lawns near the Inveresk car park was upgraded to more efficient sprinklers with a centrally located control point. Sprinklers are turned on with a telemetry system allowing for much easier control of the irrigation cycle resulting in less wastage.
The water consumption data for January to March 2012 compared to similar periods prior to the efficiency works show the daily consumption dropping from 130kL/day to 65KL/day. However it will not be until a full 12 months that we will know the exact reduction. The expected savings will be 15,400KL per year across Aurora Stadium, Invermay Park and the QVMAG grounds which will be a 22 per cent reduction.
Energy efficiency
All down lights were changed to LED lights and fluorescent tubes were changed to T5 22 watt lights. Where possible movement sensors were fitted to automatically turn lights off when areas are not used. Outside flood lights were changed over to LED floods using a fraction of the power. Security/exit signs originally using 10 watt globes were replaced with new LED signs using
1.7 watts.
The new northern stand and the renovated Invermay Park change rooms were fitted with natural gas showers instead of the standard electric hot water storage units.
The outcome of the work has resulted in reducing the annual energy consumption by approximately 100,000kWh per year which is a 15 per cent reduction.
The EcoSmartBiz program was aimed to assist a number of small businesses become more sustainable and at the same time as promoting their achievements to the wider business community. The program initially attracted 16 small businesses which were assisted with energy, water and waste audits and action plans for improvements. The businesses were assisted with workshops and one on one help. In the end 8 businesses completed the program saving $9,700 in energy costs which on average is
$1212 per business. A total of 43,190 kWh were saved through the program with the eight businesses.
A number of events and strategies have been used to engage with the wider community regarding the project and the benefits of a more sustainable life.


Green Precinct Open Day involving energy efficiency workshops, lectures, site tours and an evening of conversations with sustainability guru Tanya Ha and Professor Chris Ryan

Opening of the new northern stand at Aurora Stadium by the Prime
Minister Julia Gillard

At Aurora Stadium a partnership with the Hawthorn Football Club resulted in a massive recycling scheme to reduce material going to landfill

Tours of the facilities are available to interested groups to showcase the efficiency measures

Completion of a 9 minute animation film called the "Adventures of
Shane and Captain Sparks" which is permanently displayed on a monitor at the museum. The film explains in an entertaining and informative way where energy comes from, what energy efficiency is and what was achieved at the museum. There are also tips for the public on what they can do at home and the work place to become more efficient.
The Green Precinct project involved a number of partners which all played their part to make the project an outstanding success. The partners involved were:
University of Tasmania
Tasmanian Department of Environment, Parks, Heritage & Arts
NRM North
Net Balance
Mance Electrical
Contact Electrical
Brown Bread and Butter
1. The users of the buildings need to be involved from day one.
The specific use of rooms and work places needs to be understood before any changes are made. The best way to achieve this is to involve those who use the space so they are part of the solution.
2. Complete small scale trials first
Trials are beneficial so that the technology can be tested and measured before committing to a large scale retrofit. Unforseen circumstances will be come evident during this process avoiding costly and time consuming issues arising later on.
3. You get what you pay for

Lights, particularly new LED ones require some research to ensure you are getting what you require. Cheap lights invariably have some drawbacks. We found it better to buy top of the range fittings as they are better quality.
4. Question everything
We found that the way buildings are operated is often a result of habit.
Invariably building management personnel stated "that’s the way we have always done it" when questioned why they heated some rooms or left lights on. We challenged everything they did and suggested how it could be done differently to save energy or water. Invariably we made changes that also improved the operation of the facility and reduced maintenance costs at the same time.