Energy as a cost factor
Professional energy management for fitness studios
Cost control is a decisive factor for economically successful companies. Unfortunately, energy costs are still not given the attention they urgently need in the fitness & health industry.
Studios can save up to 40,000 (!) euros per year on electricity and heating alone.
Energy consultant Holger Roswandowicz shows what measures operators can take.
If you look at the fitness industry in its current form - as I found it in 150 premium facilities - it has developed a high standard of quality: The program, training offers and member support are professional, customer acquisition is based on modern marketing aspects and the appearance no longer has anything to do with the "Muckibuden" of the 1980s.
Still underestimated: the cost factor "energy"
Now, the gym is also a system in which operators have to look carefully at all cost factors if they want to operate economically in the long term. In addition to personnel and room costs, energy costs are a key factor that can make or break success.
We want to take a closer look at this key area of energy costs in the F&G.
Energy costs are divided between electricity and heat supply:
1) The power supply accounts for around 65% of energy costs:
- General areas such as PCs, chargers, printers, refrigerators and fitness equipment, etc.
- Lighting
- Provision of clean air, i.e. ventilation, dehumidification, air conditioning units and systems
- In rare cases, water heating with electricity
- Provision of sauna heat for the wellness area
2) Heat supply, which accounts for the remaining approx. 35% of energy costs:
- Provision of Legionella-free hot drinking water for showers and washbasins
- Heating of the interior rooms - fitness area, course and training rooms, wet area
The two pillars of electricity costs and heat supply have a significant impact on energy consumption. Both cost factors account for around 4 - 8 % of monthly turnover. A studio with an annual turnover of one million euros usually has the following energy costs: 40 - 50,000 euros in electricity costs and 20 - 30,000 euros in heating costs.
These values from the studio areas result from the function of the rooms in a studio. They are average values for the studios we examined in the premium segment. Rising energy costs in fitness & health studios can be clearly assigned to the areas mentioned above, which are generally not state-of-the-art.
The worst money wasters
The technical systems rarely respond automatically to demands from the gym and very few of the energy consumers are automated. Far too much manual work is required and is simply forgotten by those responsible - employees or operators themselves.
The list of mistakes is long. We would like to highlight the most important or worst, i.e. most cost-intensive, errors for you below.
Incorrect night-time reduction of the heating
Too many gyms do not have a night setback for the heating - and if it is present, it often works incorrectly.
This means that the heating systems work day and night without taking into account whether there are any members training in the gym at all and, if so, how many. Up to 30 % of the heating costs mentioned are thrown out of the window here, up to 10,000 euros a year have already been discovered.
A heating control system individually adjusted to the studio by a professional would provide a remedy here.
Drinking water treatment works incorrectly
The water heaters that we examined with our computers showed a variety of strange phenomena: The systems were operated so hot, sometimes over 90°C, that a scalding protection system even had to be installed. The reason for this was that the cross-sections in the supply pipes were too small. As a rule, tradesmen try to conceal this bottleneck by using high temperatures. It has happened several times that members have injured themselves because the water was too hot and scald protection was therefore installed.
This means that the wrong components were installed for the hot water supply of a fitness studio and its special requirements due to a lack of specialist knowledge on the part of the companies commissioned. This is where working underhand instead of hiring an industry professional really pays off. As a result, too much was often paid for the hot water supply for decades.
We were able to identify potential savings of up to 8,000 euros per year here.
All the lights are always on
In some fitness studios, all the lights are always on, even though certain rooms are not even in use.
Example: By measuring the electricity in real time, we were able to discover on several occasions that cleaning companies leave all the studio lights on from 4.00 am to 8.00 am. This costs the operator up to an additional 3,000 euros a year.
Such errors are particularly expensive for operators who still do not use motion detectors, not to mention the lack of LED technology.
(Please also read the article "Studio in new light" on pages 60-61 of F&G 1/2015).
Ventilation system runs continuously
Ventilation systems offer huge potential for savings - especially for studios from around 1,700 m² and upwards. Out of 200 studios, only around two to three have a ventilation control system that responds to the needs of members and employees.
Manual work is still the order of the day instead of automation. Instead of stimulating the metabolism of exercisers with plenty of oxygen in the studio, the systems are turned down in WINTER (!!!) for "cost reasons". In summer, people tend to forget to switch off the ventilation system. Result: The ventilation system runs continuously, although it should only run at full capacity at peak times.
There are many negative examples. Potential savings of 5,000 - 15,000 euros per year would be possible, depending on how busy the gym is.
However, ventilation systems not only offer huge potential for economic savings, they are also crucial for the health, performance and well-being of the training members.
The outside air has 400-500 ppm CO2 (ppm = parts per million). 1,400-1,600 ppm corresponds to the limit value in schools and sports facilities. German school authorities consider values above this, i.e. with a carbon dioxide concentration of over 1,600 ppm, to be a health risk. In fitness studios, however, we have measured over 4,000 ppm CO2 (!!!) in the indoor air!
No intelligent sauna control system
Electricity costs are particularly high in the sauna area. Studios with more than one sauna have costs of up to 25,000 euros per year.
99% of ageing sauna control units are operated by people, according to the motto: install, switch on, forget. We have seen very blatant examples in the summer months where the sauna heaters run continuously even though not a single member has been in the sauna for hours.
The only thing that can help here is automatic presence control systems that shut down the sauna when it is not in use (standby mode with high-speed heating). We have developed heating systems for this together with and especially for fitness studios.
Catastrophic CHP runtimes
Due to these numerous cost traps, particularly with regard to electricity consumption, the "renewable energies" sector saw itself in a position to sell fitness studios CHP units, i.e. electricity-generating heating systems. Their aim is to generate electricity and heat themselves.
The comparatively high investment costs for these CHP units then help to ensure that such systems run day and night and in summer and winter wherever possible, so that they pay for themselves more quickly. Machine running times of 7,000 to 8,000 operating hours per year would therefore be required for economical operation. Instead, we have found machine running times of 4,000 hours.
If the running time is increased from 4,000 to 7,000 operating hours per year, which is usually possible with minor adjustments, the system can easily produce more electricity per year - often at an equivalent value of 3,000-4,000 euros.
Professional energy management
Have you done the math? Just a few measures can save studios around 29,000 to 41,000 euros a year.
Unfortunately, the consultations and audits we have carried out have shown that the efforts of operators alone are not enough because the measures taken are too general and cannot be implemented in a targeted manner - there is simply a lack of precise measurements and evaluations.
Studios need to professionalize their energy cost management. This costs money, yes, but these costs are far lower than the potential savings per year. Each of the areas mentioned must be measured for its savings potential. There are procedures and tools that have been specially developed for this purpose. We can divide these measurement systems into three groups:
1. heating ECG
2. Electricity measurement for sauna, ventilation and lighting
3. CO2 and climate measurement in the fitness area, in the classroom and in the wet area
Based on these various measurements, a customized energy management system can be developed for each studio. Money-destroying deficits can be gradually reduced over a period of three to four years under professional supervision.
The magic word for efficient and sustainable energy management is "external data collection" for all essential or relevant parameters and control by a professional. At the same time, studios should also invest and - as in other areas - install the latest technology.
Identifying potential savings
What measures does a professional energy manager carry out to identify potential savings in studios?
The electricity cost check
Real-time electricity measurements are carried out for general areas such as PCs, printers, refrigerators and fitness equipment, as well as for lighting, the ventilation system and the provision of sauna heat.
What are "real-time measurements"?
The real-time measurements or ECGs report any deviations from the target value at any time of the day or night and immediately report malfunctions and faults, similar to a long-term ECG in humans.
To determine how the provision of clean air can be improved, a real-time CO2 measurement is also carried out on ventilation, dehumidification and air conditioning units and systems.
To determine potential savings in the provision of sauna heat for the wellness area, a temperature measurement and presence detection are also carried out.
The heat supply check
Potential savings in the heat supply are determined by a real-time heating ECG in accordance with DIN for the provision of legionella-free hot drinking water for showers and washbasins. The same applies to the heating of interior rooms, fitness areas, course and training rooms and wet areas, for which the room temperature and room humidity are also determined.
Further measures to reduce energy costs
Many studios have demonstrated in practical tests how energy costs can be reduced by surprisingly high amounts through effective measures.
We will be outlining the details of these measures in further articles in F&G. We want to make it clear that the professionalization of the industry cannot be limited exclusively to the core competencies of fitness, training and health, but must also include other important areas.
And CO2-saving energy management definitely helps to build an image.
Holger Roswandowicz
Source: F&G
Published on: 15 June 2015