Introduction

Sunshine Coast Regional Council encompasses some of Australia’s premier holiday and vacation destinations on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland Australia.  Blessed with golden beaches and sub tropical hinterland it is an area of ecodiversity as well as great beauty. 

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council recognised this natural heritage and the need for environmental stewardship long before being “eco-friendly “ was the catch cry it is today. In fact their commitment to the environment goes back well over 20 years ago. 

Case in point is the premier beachfront caravan park, Cotton Tree.  Located on the Maroochydore River and with both river and beach frontage it is a favourite destination for Australian and overseas travellers alike.

The Solution

Quantum Energy Ltd is an ASX listed Australian company with Australian developed proprietary hot water heat pump technology. This technology, as used by Cotton Tree, replaces raditional electric or gas hot water units and allows for low cost, low environmental footprint production of the park’s hot water requirements.

Quantum Energy General Manager Mr. Michael Walstab comments “it’s quite remarkable to think that not only some 16 years ago Sunshine Coast Regional Council was thinking “green” but a lot of the original units installed are still there today and still operational”.

Michael further states ”if you take the fact that the units save energy by about 50-75% compared to traditional hot water heating such as gas or electrical based units, then not only have these units paid for themselves many times over but they have saved the Sunshine Coast Regional Council hundreds of 1,000’s of dollars as well as reduced their carbon footprint by 1000’s of tonnes of emissions over the 16 years.”

Dr Ying You (Technical Director of Quantum Energy) explains “it’s easy to get confused with hot water heat pump technology and solar hot water generation, however in many ways they are very similar. Solar hot water uses the sunshine while hot water heat pumps use the air temperature as “heated by the sun” to affect the heating of the water to 60°C. In fact, in situations like this where there is considerable demand in evening and early morning for showers and washing, hot water heat pumps provide a unique solution as they don’t need bright sunshine to operate, but rather operate day and night down to temperatures of -10°C thus providing for uninterrupted hot water generation no matter rain, hail or shine.”

Quantum Energy’s unique hot water heat pumps have been recognised by the Australian Government “Office of Renewable Energy Regulator” for their energy efficiency. The Quantum Energy hot water heat pumps also attract significant subsidies and rebates in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates.

The Quantum Energy hot water heat pump solution applies to domestic residential, light commercial and industrial applications. Quantum Energy additionally has proprietary software which can determine demand and unit selection as well as using current energy costs, in order to calculate both return on investment and carbon dioxide generation savings.

Michael Walstab comments that “now with all the government subsidies and rebates available there has never been a better time to change over to Quantum Energy hot water heat pumps that will save you money compared to traditional hot water heating and also contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions.

It is one area where we can make a difference for the environment, and actually save money from day one.” For Sunshine Coast Regional Council with their Cotton Tree initiative, preservation and environmental stewardship has been a long term commitment and resounding success both environmentally and financially due to the excellent low cost operation and robust (16 years and still going) performance of the Quantum Energy hot water heat pump units.