H2OME

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The clubhouse, the carts and the irrigation question

A country golf club is a clubhouse, a pro shop, a shed full of carts and a big irrigation system. This page sorts out which of those a 15 kW system could hold.

Clubhouse and pro shop

The clubhouse runs a bar with fridges and a beer chiller, a kitchen for members' lunches, function room lighting and sound, and hot water for the locker rooms. The pro shop needs lights, the till and EFTPOS, and the tee booking computer. Those together sit within 15 kW, with the kitchen the one area to watch during a big function.

What it would keep running

  • Bar fridges and beer chiller
  • Clubhouse kitchen
  • Function room lighting and sound
  • Pro shop till and booking computer
  • Locker room hot water

Cart chargers and the irrigation pumps

Electric golf cart chargers run overnight and are modest each, though a big fleet adds up. They would usually be charged when nothing else is drawing much, and charging can simply pause through an outage. A round of golf can wait a day; the bar fridges and the function booked for Saturday night cannot.

Course irrigation is a different scale. The main irrigation pumps on many courses draw far more than 15 kW, and running them from stored hydrogen would be expensive given a round trip of 30% or less. That is not what this system is designed for. Irrigation would stay on the grid, or need a separate solution.

How it works →
The H2OME loop: an electrolyser splits water into hydrogen, the hydrogen is stored in a tank for weeks, a fuel cell turns it into electricity for your home, and the water returns to the loop.

Functions and outages

A golf club hosting a wedding or a prizegiving does not want the lights to go out mid speech. The instant switch-over keeps the function room running, and the fuel cell is quiet enough to sit near the clubhouse without spoiling the evening. Hydrogen stored at 30 bar or less keeps for weeks between events, charged on off-peak power.

Questions

Can it run the course irrigation?

Not the main irrigation pumps on most courses. Those draw far more than 15 kW and run for long periods. With a round trip of 30% or less, running them from hydrogen would be costly. Irrigation would stay on the grid or need another solution.

Can it charge the cart fleet?

A modest fleet, yes, especially overnight when the clubhouse is quiet. A large fleet all charging at once alongside the clubhouse could reach the limit, so charging would be staged. In an outage it can pause.

Is it quiet enough near the clubhouse deck?

There is no engine, so no rumble or exhaust. Fans and pumps make a low hum, and the unit would sit away from the deck and function room in a ventilated enclosure.

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