Sustainable Shower Power at Hillingdon Council
Multivert system offered a cost‑effective, low‑risk solution to reducing one of the highest energy loads in the building - hot water.
Project Overview
The Platinum Jubilee Leisure Centre is a flagship, low‑carbon development directly managed and delivered by Hillingdon Council in West Drayton. Designed to be a highly sustainable, net‑zero carbon facility, the centre supports the council’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and demonstrates leadership in environmentally responsible public infrastructure.
Located at the corner of Harmondsworth Road and Rowlheys Place, the new leisure centre replaces older, inefficient facilities with a modern, energy‑efficient building that is expected to become carbon negative over its lifetime.
Sustainability Strategy
The Platinum Jubilee Leisure Centre incorporates a range of low‑carbon technologies to minimise energy use and operational emissions, including:
- Air source heat pumps for space and pool heating
- Extensive rooftop solar PV to generate on‑site renewable electricity
- High‑efficiency pool filtration systems
- Showersave Waste Water Heat Recovery Systems to reduce hot water energy demand
Together, these measures support net‑zero operation while delivering long‑term operational savings.
Showersave Solution
2 x Showersave Multivert Waste Water Heat Recovery Systems. Each Multivert system incorporates 4 OFF QB1‑12 Waste Water Heat Recovery units, designed specifically for high‑demand commercial applications such as leisure centres. Gas boilers are producing the hot water for showering, the systems are installed in the basement plant room alongside the pool and heating plant, operating continuously and unobtrusively.
Application
Approximately 20 showers serving the ground floor (and potentially first floor) facilities are connected to the Multivert systems.
The systems recover heat from shower waste water (grey water) and reuse this energy to pre‑heat incoming cold mains water before it reaches the calorifier tanks. This significantly reduces the energy required to produce hot water for showering.
Environmental & Operational Benefits
The Showersave Multivert systems deliver substantial environmental benefits for the development:
- Up to 35-40% reduction in energy required to heat shower water
- Significant CO₂ emissions reduction through recovered waste heat
- Integrates with all low carbon systems including PV systems
- Extremely low maintenance with no moving parts
- Long‑term, reliable performance suited to public‑sector facilities
Why Showersave Was Specified
The Multivert system offered a cost‑effective, low‑risk solution to reducing one of the highest energy loads in the building – hot water.
Unlike visible renewable technologies, the system requires no specialist access equipment, no height‑related health and safety procedures, and no specialist training to install. It delivers continuous energy savings without impacting building aesthetics or user experience.
The Facility
Leisure centres are among the most energy‑intensive public buildings, largely due to the demand for hot water. Reducing this load was a key design priority. The centre includes:
- Three swimming pools (main pool, training pool, and children’s leisure pool)
- Gym and fitness facilities
- A family hub with gaming areas
- Creative spaces for young people, including music production rooms
TClarke
MEP contractor TClarke evaluated several waste water heat recovery options and selected Showersave due to its:
- Robust, commercial‑grade design
- Proven suitability for large leisure facilities
- Clear technical support and professional presentation
- Recognition within SBEM, supporting Part L compliance and EPC calculations
- Rapid return on investment, likely to be below 2 years
- Deliver energy and carbon savings for the lifetime of the building
- Reduce long‑term operating costs for the local authority
Compared to more domestic‑style alternatives, Showersave provided a scalable and durable solution aligned with the project’s sustainability ambitions.
“We explored several options for implementing wastewater heat recovery for showers, and the Showersave Multivert proved to be the most robust and fit-for-purpose solution for the project. It was straightforward to install and provides an effective, simple method of improving energy efficiency by recovering heat from shower wastewater and reusing it to pre-heat incoming cold water.”
Ross McIntosh, Project Engineer, TClarke
Looking Ahead
The Platinum Jubilee Leisure Centre is providing the community with a state of the art, low‑carbon leisure facility that demonstrates how waste water heat recovery can play a vital role in achieving net‑zero with low operational running costs.
“We explored several options for implementing wastewater heat recovery for showers, and the Showersave Multivert proved to be the most robust and fit-for-purpose solution for the project. It was straightforward to install and provides an effective, simple method of improving energy efficiency by recovering heat from shower wastewater and reusing it to pre-heat incoming cold water.”
Ross McIntosh, Project Engineer, TClarke