Looking to transform your hotel or resort pool amenity area into a lean, green energy-saving machine? Here are five suggestions that will put a smile on your facility manager’s face.
Warm Up to Thermal Blankets
While some operators may complain about the labor that it takes to remove and replace pool covers each day, you get more “bang from your buck” utilizing a well insulated set of thermal blankets on your pool (even indoors) than just about anything else. Studies on outdoor pools have shown up to 40 percent savings in natural gas costs for those operators that are dutiful in replacing the pool blankets every evening. At an average capital cost of $2.50 per square foot of water surface area, thermal blankets can pay for themselves in six to 12 months.
Harness the Sun to Heat Your Pools
Over the past 10 years there has been a great deal of interest in solar heating by commercial pool operators. With utility rates spiking over the last few years, this interest has reached a fever pitch. When natural gas had a unit price of $0.55 per therm, proposing solar was an exercise in political correctness, since the payback averaged eight to 10 years, and the average life of most systems is 12 years. However, with natural gas prices hovering in the vicinity of $0.85 per therm, full return on investment is in the four to six year range, which is considerably more attractive to the average pool operator.
Take a Shine To LED Lighting
Replacing your existing incandescent underwater lights with high efficiency LED fixtures can dramatically reduce the cost to keep those “love” lights burning. A 70-watt LED fixture produces approximately the same amount of light as a 450-watt incandescent fixture, but with savings of nearly 85 percent in the amount of energy consumed. Initial capital costs are approximately double ($500 per LED fixture, as opposed to $250 for an incandescent), but the LED lights will provide 55,000 hours of light compared to 3,800 hours for an incandescent, so the changeover is well worth the investment.
In The Swim with Salt Water Chlorine Generators
Salt water chlorine generation systems produce sodium hypochlorite, but they produce the chemical on-site, as opposed to purchasing liquid chlorine from a vendor and having it delivered. Non-iodized table salt, or sodium chloride, is added directly into the swimming pool. Dosing levels of sodium chloride vary from vendor to vendor, but range from 3,000 parts per million (PPM) to 5,000 PPM. Human tears have a salinity of 7,200 PPM and sea water has a salinity of 36,000 PPM, so the salt concentration in the pool is relatively low. As the saline pool water passes through a chlorine generating cell, an electrical DC current is passed from a negatively charged cathode to a positively charged anode within the cell. The electrochemical reaction disassociates the sodium and chlorine, thus producing hypochlorous acid, and a number of other compounds. Once the chlorine generated from the salt has killed the bacteria, viruses and other organic compounds, it reverts back to salt, and the process begins all over again. Occasionally, more salt must be added to replace what is lost to splash-out and filter backwash.
Despite relatively high capital and maintenance costs, advantages of salt water chlorine generation include the fact that storage of chlorine is reduced or eliminated, thereby reducing the handling of chemicals, and the pool water has a “soft water” feel to it. Many patrons of pools or Swedish hot tubs utilizing salt water chlorine generation report a very favorable experience—similar to having a European spa treatment.
Water-Saving Wet Playgrounds
A wet playground (also known as a “splash pad”) is an area for water play that has no standing water. Water that is discharged from the play elements to the wet playground is drained to a below grade collection tank via a series of gratings installed flush with the play surface. Depending upon local regulations, this can reduce or eliminate the need for lifeguards, even though proper supervision is recommended. Typical wet playground features include multiple varieties of ground sprays, static spray devices such as spray rings or pole sprays, and interactive spray devices where patrons can control the effects, such as water cannons, valve-controlled pole sprays and touch pad activated spray jets. Wet playgrounds are typically surfaced in textured non-slip concrete or various forms of padding over concrete. Not only are they fun for all, but if properly maintained, wet playgrounds can provide one of the safest forms of water play available. Other benefits include:
• Low construction cost: A wet playground can be built for a fraction of the cost of a standard size commercial swimming pool. Depending on the quantity of wet play elements or size of climbable play structures, the capital cost for small to moderately sized wet playgrounds can range from $100,000 to $300,000. By contrast, a typical leisure pool can range in cost upwards of $550,000 to $750,000, and have considerably less play value than a wet playground.
• Low operational cost: Wet playgrounds tend to have substantially lower water volumes than traditional swimming pools, thereby reducing (in the case of recirculation systems) the pump horsepower required to operate and maintain the attraction. In addition, in the case of splash pads, the systems are easy to drain and shut down during off season.
• Reduced supervision: For wet playgrounds, traditional lifeguards may not be required, but staff supervision of the wet playground is recommended to reduce horseplay, abuse of equipment, etc. With a pool, two to three lifeguards would usually be required by most local regulations.
Randy Mendioroz is a principal with Aquatic Design Group, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based consulting firm which specializes in the programming, planning, design and engineering of competitive, recreation and leisure-based aquatic facilities. His internationally recognized firm has designed more than 2,500 water-based projects. Current design commissions include the Spieker Aquatic Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, the CityCenter Las Vegas Resort and Casino, and international projects in five countries worldwide. For more information, call (760) 438-8400 or visit www.aquaticdesigngroup.com.
