Tag Archives: Ralph Kittler

Monitoring and controlling indoor air quality using a web browser-based software interface

Imagine the following scenario: an aquatic facility manager is vacationing with their family in Europe and suddenly receives an e-mail alert on his/her smartphone regarding a problem with the indoor air quality at the commercial pool he/she manages. Unfortunately, the on-duty maintenance staffers are not able to diagnose or respond, but the problem needs to be fixed immediately. Thanks to today’s dehumidification system technology, this scenario might unfold (chronologically) as such:

+ Read More

Retrofitting HVAC Systems

Sooner or later an indoor pool facility will require a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system retrofit. For many hotels, community, and school pools built in the 1980s and early 1990s this is happening now because their HVAC systems are close to the end of their typical lifecycle, which is approximately 15 to 25 years.

+ Read More

Common facility operational issues are often blamed on the dehumidifier

Canada has thousands of indoor swimming pools. Unfortunately, many of them are more problematic than facility operators would like to admit. Too often, the pool’s dehumidifier is blamed and the real cause of a natatorium problem is never discovered nor addressed. Chlorine odours, mould, condensation, or poor indoor air comfort, generally have causes unrelated to the dehumidifier. Instead, they may be due to building pressurization imbalances, improper vapour barrier, poor ventilation design, unbalanced water chemistry, or unsuitable architectural materials. They can also be related to inadequate maintenance, or perhaps just a slow, unnoticed degradation of operating parameters. Additionally, a few seemingly minor items missed during design and construction can also contribute to facility problems. Natatoriums have many unique design challenges and considerations that are not always obvious to anyone unsure about these facilities’ state-of-the-art requirements.

+ Read More

New dehumidifier technologies

A myriad of new energy-reduction and environmentally friendly dehumidification technologies have been introduced to the indoor swimming pool market in the last 10 years. These innovations not only provide significant advancements in system performance and reliability, but also considerably reduce operating expenses. These systems also provide natatorium owners/operators a quick return on investment (ROI), which has prompted more facilities to consider upgrading their existing dehumidification equipment even before its useful lifecycle is over. For new construction projects, these systems can potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the equipment’s lifecycle.

+ Read More