Commercial Solar Project:
Combine Air Training Rozelle

Peter Hickey is no stranger to innovation. The owner of a unique fitness business, Combine Air Training, had embraced the science of high-altitude training to create extremely effective workouts and a successful gym franchise. So, when Peter became aware of the company’s soaring power bills, he turned to the science of solar.

Combine Air Training in Sydney’s Rozelle, features pressurised training rooms that simulate exercising at high altitude, which result in supercharged fitness outcomes – and huge energy use. With an aim to reduce the gym’s overheads, as well as its carbon footprint, Peter tasked Solahart Sydney with finding a solution.

Opened in 2020, Combine Air Training has a unique studio environment with 13.5 to 14 per cent oxygen, equivalent to working out at 3,500 metres above sea level. This climate is created with air compressors, which requires a heavy power load.

“High-altitude training yields incredible results, but the cost of running air compressors to pressurise our studios was astronomical. Our profit was being seriously impacted and, with energy prices rising, it was only going to get worse,” says Peter.

As well as safeguarding the company’s bottom line, Peter was also keen to reduce the business’s carbon footprint. He had a candid conversation with the landlord of the Rozelle building, who was supportive of Combine Air Gym’s investment in renewable energy.

“We wanted sustainable business growth, from both a cost and environmental perspective. Once the gym had established itself, we got in touch with Solahart Sydney to find out how we could join the green movement,” Peter continues.