PWTAG Annual Conference 2023 – The Sustainable Pool

The 2023 PWTAG conference was held on 23 November at Eastwood Hall in Nottingham with the theme of The Sustainable Pool.

Insightful presentations delivered by guest speakers included Tom Devin and James Coombes, who shared their expertise of “Net Zero Carbon pools principles, practice and Passive House concepts”.

In their presentation, Tom and James shed light on the principles and practices behind Net Zero Carbon pools.

The key message is about efficiency and there are up to 7 stakeholders in the provision and operation of a highly energy-efficient pool water treatment system, from agreeing targets and getting appropriate support from clients through to auditing and monitoring of the installation.

The most significant element is the energy required for pool water circulation.

The only established energy efficiency targets for this are identified in the Passive House Publication ‘Passive House Concept for indoor swimming pool: Guidelines‘. The targets were reviewed and data from research on UK pools shows that more than 80% of pools investigated operate outside of the worst target – there is much to improve!

The main areas to consider are system water velocities which are a critical factor in minimising frictional losses and hence pressure drops across the system, and an electrical consumption for circulation target of between 25 – 40W per m3/hr.

There is sometimes the perception that the filtration system is the key to optimising energy efficiency, which is not the case. James identified that there are 17 different areas to be addressed and that the best target levels are readily achievable.

For more information on Net Zero Carbon pools, please contact our office on +44(0)1912581653.