Introduction

Set in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are a tourist and scuba diver’s paradise. The Maldives are a pristine ecosystem comprising of 1,100 coral islands in 200 atolls, with only 200 of them actually populated.

There are over 80 resorts in the Maldives and all of them face a similar problem as did the Fesdu Retreat and Spa Resort, when it came to the provision of hot water for their resort guests.

The Problems

The problems are “fourfold” explains Quantum’s Managing Director, Phillip Sidney.  These are:

1. The water supply is all aquifier fed and tends to be quite high in dissolved solids. This very quickly will cause deposition of mineral salts on traditional electric water heater elements, causing a decrease in performance.

2. The high dissolved solid content and salt air environment means that corrosion of equipment is a major issue.

3. Electricity on the islands is supplied in the main by diesel generator sets. This is very costly and also has obvious environmental implications both on a larger scale with carbon dioxide emissions and on a local "island scale” with the noise pollution aspect.

4. Eco-awareness on the islands is very high. Phillip Sidney explains that this is a necessity being that the highest point in the Republic is only a mere 2.4 metres above sea level.  "Naturally while the inhabitants of the Maldives can’t stem global warming by their efforts alone, they still have a strong commitment to reducing carbon emissions where they can”

The Solutions

The Fesdu Retreat and Spa Resort, faced with these problems looked to Quantum Energy for the solution and installed over 50 of Quantum’s high performance heat pumps. 

Phillip Sidney states that, “the installation of these units saved a considerable load on the diesel generators, which in turn significantly reduced operating costs as well as delivering environmental benefits”.

Quantum Energy’s TankWrapTM technology means that the actual heating coils are not immersed in the water to be heated. This patented technology prevents scaling of the coils and minimises corrosion when compared to traditional coil in water electric units and other heat pumps.

Additionally, proprietary corrosion protection coated heat exchange coils means better resistance to salt air environments and a longer operating life.

The Result

The combination of Quantum’s proprietary design and special features such as additional corrosion protection, makes them “the” choice for resort owners, especially when the resort is located in coastal or island localities.  Additionally, Quantum Energy units come in a range of sizes from 150 litre up to 1,020 litre storage units which means that the most efficient solution can be easily obtained and tailored for the specific resort’s needs.

Fesdu Retreat and Spa Resort is located on Fesdu Island in the North Ari Atoll in the Republic of the Maldives. The Fesdu Retreat and Spa Resort is a member of the Starwood Group of Hotels and Resorts.