Goldsbrough apartments embraces big transformations. It was a woolstore in 1886 and now it’s a mixed-use residential building with 524 apartments. Its energy efficiency journey over the past 16 years has been no less impressive.
Since joining our smart green apartments program, Goldsbrough has quietly demonstrated consistent sustainability leadership in the strata sector.
What they did
Goldsbrough started making energy efficiency improvements by replacing the halogen lights in the lifts with LEDs. Though LEDs were new and expensive at the time, thorough research, testing, and costing suggested replacing the inefficient lights would have an immediate impact. And they did.
In the past 10 years, the building has completed several efficiency and renewable energy projects:
- swapping out inefficient lights for LEDs in all common areas plus using timers and sensors
- installing variable speed drives on pumps and in upgraded lifts
- recovering heat from hot water and redirecting it back to the pool and spa
- replacing electric boilers at end-of-life with new efficient heat pumps
- capturing condensate from the cooling tower to be reused as its makeup water (reducing water top-ups resulting from evaporation by 40%)
- adding a large 176kW solar system, consisting of 391 panels, to the redesigned roof following hailstorm damage.
Results
- While market energy costs rose in 2022, Goldsbrough reduced its energy costs by 40% through replacing electric boilers with new heat pumps in April 2023 and combining them with a solar feed.
- The building is now considering storing solar electricity in batteries to use when demand for electricity is high or when grid prices are expensive. It's also investigating opportunities for vertical wind technology.
Lessons
Goldsbrough reframed unexpected challenges as opportunities for further improvements. This allowed the building to consider, carefully finance, and install its new heat pumps and rooftop solar.
“The synergy between the strata committee and building management has led Goldsbrough to change, adapt and evolve into what Ed Truscott, house committee chair, described as a ‘lighthouse for the future of residential buildings’.”
– Senior facilities manager, Gary Binskin.
