Conserving energy—along with resources like pool chemicals—is an important mission for many aquatic facility directors, and it can also help reduce the cost of operating your pool.
Swimming pools primarily lose energy through evaporation of heated pool water. As each pound of 80-degree water evaporates, the pool loses 1,048 Btu of heat. Indoor pools are more protected from environmental factors, but still lose energy to evaporation. At the same time, they require well-designed ventilation systems to help manage indoor humidity stemming from this evaporation, further increasing energy consumption.
Keeping your pool covered when it is not in use is an effective solution to minimize evaporation. The installation of pool covers can reduce the cost to heat your pool by as much as 50% to 70%, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, which says that covering pools when they are not in use is “the single most effective means of reducing pool heating costs.”
In addition to reducing evaporation, pool covers on indoor pools will diminish the need for continuous ventilation and influx of outdoor air. And, because chlorinated water is prevented from evaporating, your facility’s windows, paint, exposed metal and other fixtures in the pool area will be protected from chemical corrosion.
Bradley Griffith, director of fitness at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill., reported an impressive cost reduction of $25,000 per year in electric expenses after installing pool covers. What’s more, the pool’s water better retains its temperature overnight, which eliminated the need to turn on pool heaters.
In Webster City, Iowa, staff tracked monthly utility usage after the installation of pool covers at the recreation center’s indoor pool. After more than a year with an automated pool cover, Webster City saved more than $33,000 in just a year. In addition, the pool saved approximately $1,000 by using fewer chemicals, and the ventilation system operated more efficiently, according to Assistant City Manager Kent Harfst.
If you want to see significant savings in your consumption of energy, water and pool chemicals, at indoor and outdoor pools alike, consider investing in pool covers to keep your pool from losing these valuable resources when it’s not in use.
For More Information
Alta Enterprises Inc.
800-624-1234
www.altapoolcovers.com