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Recotherm ‘Brand Leader’ Interview Podcast 3 – Transcript to support learning
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‘BNE Bite-Sized Learning podcast series – Swimming Pool Ventilation industry update for 2022’
Recotherm ‘Brand Leader’ Interview Podcast – Transcript to support learning
Every effort has been made to flawlessly transcribe the interview to support learning but please consider the recorded audio of the interview as the actual source of information for learning purposes.
Hi, this is Mick de Leiburne for BusinessNet Explorer and welcome to the latest BNE Brand Leader interview for our BNE bite-sized learning podcast series for Construction & Building Services product specifiers – today we are joined by a very popular industry thought leader guest on this podcast – Martin Killen – MD at Recotherm – to provide specifiers with a Swimming Pool Ventilation industry update for 2022, covering Covid 19, Sustainability and Future Trends.
Hi Martin, thanks for breaking into your busy schedule to share some of your specialist industry knowledge on these key specification topics.
Hi Mick, thanks for inviting me
Always a pleasure
Martin, first could you give us an update on the Covid 19 situation with regard to Swimming Pools?
We have been working with Covid 19 limitations now for two years, and although I know of a number of friends and family that have caught Covid in a hospital, I haven’t heard of anybody who has caught covid in a swimming pool. But we’re still advising caution, and as always, recommending fresh air ventilation to control the pool hall environment. Not only because of the Covid situation, but because it gives a better environment and is cheaper to run.
Let’s move onto the increasingly pressing issue of Global Warming and currently available HVAC options to support Sustainability objectives?
Yes, we’re dealing with the government’s attempt to counter the effect of global warming. I think we’reall aware that the government will ban the use of conventional fossil fuel boilers in new houses in 2025, and they are actively promoting heat pumps, as their preferred alternative.
The problem people need to be aware of is that if you buy a 27kW boiler it will provide 27kW if installed correctly. If you buy a 27kW heat pump its output will depend on the flow temperature required, and if it’s an air source heat pump it will also depend on the ambient air temperatures. What you must take into account is that a conventional radiator system would have been designed to run with water at 70 to 80 oC. You will not get the same performance out of them if you supply water at 50 oC. There are units on the market that can run at low temperatures and provide high temperature water for your radiator systems, but the efficiency drops right off and you will find your energy bills increasing because you are replacing gas with electricity which can be as much as 5 times the price.
Can heat pumps be used in Swimming Pools to mitigate the effects of Climate Change?
In the swimming pool environment, we have to keep the air temperature close to the temperature of the pool water, and as most clients want the pool at around 30oC it can become quite challenging to achieve with water off a heat pump at 50oC. In some cases, you would have to increase the size of the unit in order to get the required amount of heat into the building, or, you could just except that the unit will not be able to maintain a temperature of 30oC when it is 0oC outside. In Britain it is very unusual for the temperature to be at or below 0oC during the day so accepting that the temperature will be a little lower, say 28oC, could save on running cost and prevent you having to buy a larger and more expensive ventilation unit. You may also be able to reduce the size of the heat pump, and I believe, that most people would not notice the difference between 30oC and 28 oC air temperature in the pool hall.
What Alternatives could be made available?
An alternative to the ground or air source heat pump that produces water would be a unit where the refrigerant coil was fitted directly into the AHU, therefore eliminating the need to produce water. This is what we at Recotherm have done with the Aerum unit, which has all the features of the Aeris unit with regards to control of the pool hall humidity, but instead of being connected to a boiler or air to water heat pump, the unit is part of the heat pump.
One major advantage of this is that you get substantial cooling in the summer.
Are there any cost implications with this alternative use of the technology?
Yes, this solution is more expensive than the standard Aeris unit connected to a boiler, but, given that after 2025 you will not be able to install a boiler in a new home it offers a real solution … with some advantages. We have been working closely with one of the major suppliers of air conditioning units in the UK to give customers an alternative to the air to water heat pumps. The advantage of working with a major supplier is that we get the latest technology, using the best and most efficient compressors, and running with the least environmentally damaging refrigerants. It also means that there is a network of service engineers in place from day one if you have a problem. And if the units are installed by a qualifying company, the units come with a 7-year warranty.
So, it is an interesting time to be working with swimming pool ventilation units.
Finally, just to round up this 2022 update for the Swimming Pool Ventilation industry, how about Future Trends – what could be made available next for industry specifiers?
I still think filtration will become more important, particularly with the Covid situation. What you need to know is that Covid does not float in the atmosphere, it attaches itself to particles in the air. Obviouslythe less particles in the air and the smaller these particles are the less likely it is to transmit. We have filters that are 70% efficient at 0.1 micron so potentially could be Covid safe, but Covid isn’t the only reason to fit high efficiency filters. Our cities are so dirty that it is starting to cause respiratory problem and filtering to this level will make a big difference.
Well Martin, thank you for this update, very educational as ever, with a lot of really useful information and industry insights for specifiers listening to this podcast to take away with them. We wish the Recotherm brand the best of luck with its ongoing pioneering and as always innovative product development adventure for 2022.
Thank you Mick
Cheers
For more information about Recotherm swimming pool ventilation systems – please go to www.recotherm.co.uk
