Innovation fund project - Apex Plumbing Ltd
Mangonui Hotel, Northland
Hotel Mangonui has been described as one of New Zealand's most beautiful hotels and enjoys Historic Places Trust classification as a Heritage One Hotel. It is a well known tourist destination in the Northand coastal town of Mangonui which enjoys high occupancy, particularly through the warmer months of the year.
This project has received local interest and support and is regarded by many as a model for future projects. Obtaining a building consent for the system as it was a heritage building required first getting approval for the installation from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. This approval was gained and by agreement the panels are discretely placed on the northern slope of the roof and do not detract from the lovely lines of this historic building.
The Mangonui hotel has installed a 800L Green Glo cylinder and a 10m2 Solahart BT solar water heating system with gas backup. This solar water heating system will provide hot water to kitchen facilities and to 14 rooms.
The main motivation behind the project was the increasingly high cost of electricity for the hotel.
The project owner will undertake nine months of monitoring with gas and water flow meters to assess the performance of this system.
