Club buys £70,000 solar panels to cut power bills

A PRIVATE members’ club in Henley is installing a solar panel system to combat rising energy costs.

Phyllis Court Club is placing more than 100 solar panels on the roof of its fitness club. When these are in place, the energy generated by the panels will save 30 per cent of its electricity costs.

The club, which currently has about 3,500 members, started installing the panels last month.

The fitness club, which was built five years ago and contains a pool, solarium, gym, café and treatment rooms, will be partially powered by them.

The panels cost £70,000, although the club estimates they will pay for themselves in less than two and a half years.

It is predicted the panels will avoid 35,128kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

Chris Hogan, the club’s chief executive, said: “We realised that increasing electricity and gas costs would impact businesses and therefore made a business case to invest in very efficient solar panels to save money. We have covered the entire roof. On a good day, they will save us 30 per cent of electricity costs to run the centre.

“We will be pulling far less electricity from the National Grid because we will be generating it ourselves.

“I want to ensure that we future-proof the businesses and investing in an energy-saving initiative is a no-brainer.

“The members are going to benefit hugely from this because the business is not spending money on fuel but instead the enhancement of their enjoyment.”

Mr Hogan said the panels were part of a wider initiative by the club to become more sustainable. He said: “We have invested in a combined heat and power unit, a device from Germany which burns gas very efficiently. This will power the clubhouse.”

Michele Bilson, the club’s marketing and brand communications
co-ordinator, said the club council came up with the idea of the solar panels and that there was no objection from members.

The proposal was then discussed and agreed by the directors.

Ms Bilson said the the club would look at investing in more panels for the rest of its buildings if the roofing was suitable.

The £4million fitness club was completed in 2018 but Phyllis Court Club had been pursuing plans for a leisure facility since 2011. It worked with Nirvana Spa and Leisure on a £7million leisure complex in the grounds but negotiations broke down.

The plan was to provide a 99-year lease worth more than £40,000 a year for an unused piece of land on the east side of the visitor car park for Nirvana to build the centre.

In January 2015 the club’s council unanimously withdrew its support for a £4 million health and fitness centre, saying it was not viable.

Five months earlier it was granted planning permission for a two-storey complex with a gym and swimming pool despite objections from
neighbours.

Since the completion of the fitness centre, membership has soared.

Ms Bilson said: “It has increased the membership numbers considerably and driven the average age of members down so is considered a success.”

She said that unlike many clubs around the country that were taking cost-saving measures, such as turning the heat down in pools, Phyllis Court Club had not changed anything in the centre.

However, she said: “We are making improvements all the time to make sure we are energy efficient and have implemented changes within the main clubhouse.”