Home / Uses / Backup power for a surf lifesaving club

Keeping the surf club on air when the coast loses power

Surf lifesaving clubs often double as coastal emergency bases. When a storm cuts power along the beach, the club still has to be ready. This page covers the loads that matter.

Radios and rescue gear chargers

A surf club's core loads are the base radio, the chargers for handheld radios, and the battery chargers for rescue equipment. The first aid room needs light, heat and a fridge. The tower or patrol room may have a camera feed and a laptop for logging incidents. Those are small, steady loads that a 15 kW system can carry with plenty of headroom.

What it would keep running

Base radio and handheld chargers
Rescue equipment battery chargers
First aid room light, heat and fridge
Patrol tower camera and laptop
Clubroom lighting and urns

Salt, sand and siting

Coastal sites are hard on equipment. The system would be housed in a sealed, ventilated enclosure set back from the beach and protected from spray and blown sand. Designing the enclosure for salt air, and keeping it clear of the gear shed where boards, rescue tubes and inflatable rescue boats come and go, is part of what the pilot would look at.

It is designed to AS/NZS 60079 and ISO 19880, with hydrogen stored at 30 bar or less and redundant leak sensors that trigger automatic shutdown and venting, which is important at a club full of members, juniors and the public on a summer weekend.

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.

The clubrooms as a refuge

Many surf clubs have a function room and kitchen that become a gathering place in coastal emergencies. Lights, urns, a fridge and phone charging fit easily. Hot showers and a commercial kitchen together may need prioritising. It charges on off-peak power and holds hydrogen for weeks. Round trip is 30% or less, so this is resilience, not savings.

Questions

Can it charge rescue equipment batteries?

Chargers for rescue equipment, radios and defibrillator spares are generally modest loads that fit easily within 15 kW alongside the rest of the club. The pilot would check the specific chargers the club uses and their starting draw.

Will salt air damage it?

Coastal corrosion is a real concern. The system would sit in a protected enclosure, and how it holds up in salt air is one of the conditions pilot sites are meant to test.

Could it run the clubrooms for an event?

For lighting, a bar, a kitchen and audio, yes, within 15 kW. Big catering setups with several electric ovens running at once may need gas cooking or a larger setup, which the pilot would size against the club's real function calendar.

Elsewhere

Every use →

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