Several of Ireland’s most iconic tourist attractions and locations need to change the way they work to counter significant increases in energy costs.
At Croke Park, utility bills for both gas and electricity are up 100 percent over the past 12 months, meaning bills are now expected to hit well into the seven-figure range for the year.
“Costs have spiraled out of control month after month and it’s very difficult to predict and plan what’s going to happen,” said operations executive Colin O’Brien.
As a result, Croke Park has upgraded its lighting to energy efficient LED bulbs and installed sensor lights. Heating schedules have been adjusted so that rooms are only heated to the required level when it is essential and all staff have been trained to “be more energy conscious”.
It is also exploring the feasibility of solar energy to help illuminate offices, conference rooms, corporate suites, catering units, kitchens, floodlights, and television and pitch screens.
The venue has significant energy costs during normal times and, as the third largest stadium of its kind in Europe, it is one of Ireland’s largest conference and event venues, as well as a museum.
“The current energy crisis has pushed us somewhat as many of the major projects we had planned, such as solar energy and water extraction, are now at the top of our agenda. It is now a higher priority to plan how to integrate renewable energy into the way we operate the stadium,” said Mr O’Brien
“We’ve been looking at our building management system to see what adjustments we can make to heating and lighting schedules and where we can lower temperature set points. Improving the energy performance of our site is paramount, now more than ever.”
The National Museum of Ireland has seen its electricity and gas costs rise by about 340 percent to 430 percent, forcing it to assess its energy consumption at its four museum sites; Archaeology, decorative arts and history and natural history in Dublin and rural life, in Turlough Park, in Co Mayo.
One of the measures it has taken is to lower the overall temperature to a “consistent 19 degrees Celsius”.
“We are bringing expertise in how best to operate our systems to ensure stable conditions for our collections, but with lower energy consumption,” said a spokeswoman.
Discussions are also underway about possible changes to the opening hours of its branches. “We are evaluating the impact of reduced hours on our sites, but it is limited due to our need to maintain core systems for preserving the collection at the museum.”
For the Office of Public Works, which manages some of the country’s most iconic heritage objects, including two World Heritage Sites, 800 national monuments and more than 2,000 acres of gardens and parks, costs have risen 50 percent since January.
Bee Dublin Zoowhere energy bills have increased by 90 percent, electricity is a necessity as it is needed for animal support systems, lighting, habitat barriers, gates, veterinary equipment, food preparation, storage, and visitor-related systems such as admission and zoo restaurants.
A spokesperson said that rather than cutting costs, Dublin Zoo has made an investment to ensure that the Wild Lights event can take place this year without affecting the national energy grid this winter.
To ensure that Wild Lights does not impact its energy supply, it is taken off the grid and powered by hydrogen treated vegetable oil (HVO) made from 100 percent renewable raw materials.
“Hydrotreated vegetable oil is synthesized from waste fats and vegetable oil. Other measures taken to reduce energy consumption include LED lighting and reducing the daily runtime of the event by one hour,” a spokesperson said.
“Dublin Zoo had the opportunity to take Wild Lights off the national grid at a much lower cost to the organization compared to the cost of HVO, but given the emerging electricity challenges facing the Irish public we have made the decision to invest in alternative sustainable means to power the event.”
Trinity College has said it is “well aware of the looming global energy crisis” and as costs rise, projects including upgrading to LED lighting, decarbonising heating and using stormwater harvesting systems are all the more important.
“We have just shortened our opening hours at Book of Kells as we normally do for the fall and winter periods, which reflects visitor numbers and has clear implications for reducing our energy consumption,” said a spokesperson.