YMCA facility upgrades its operational efficiencies

by Sally Bouorm | October 1, 2013 12:58 pm

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By Mike Fowler

Commercial aquatic facilities are continuously reviewing their operating costs and evaluating the benefits of replacing a heater, pump, or filtration system to improve the operational efficiency of the pump room. Smart pool professionals are now taking the time to look at the pump room as a whole whereby integrating all equipment to make all components run with greater synergy. Rather than look at individual parts of the pump room, it has become even more important, especially with today’s new technology, to look at the entire operational system to ensure all of the individual components achieve maximum performance.

Technological advancements in today’s swimming pool equipment make it imperative for pool professionals to take the time to sit with facility managers to ensure they are achieving the water quality, parameter reporting, and cost controls necessary to keep commercial aquatic pools operating smoothly, in addition to controlling costs, and minimizing their impact on the environment.

To illustrate the benefits of pump room equipment integration, the following is a step-by-step explanation of how Hollandia Pools and Spas, a commercial design/build and service company based in London, Ont., was not only able to significantly reduce the electrical, chemical, and water bills of a YMCA aquatic facility in Woodstock, Ont., but also the overall environmental impact the facility had on the municipality’s water systems.

The facility

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The YMCA, built more than 35 years ago, is a typical aquatic facility with a 25-yard (75-ft) 331,829-L (87,660-gal) swimming pool. Facility operators contacted Hollandia after they realized the equipment room needed an upgrade, not just to reduce operating costs, but also to comply with the Ontario Ministry of Health’s (MOH’s) current Health Protection and Promotion Act.¹ More specifically, Hollandia was brought in to design and renovate a new equipment room.

“Having the opportunity to design the pump room for maximum efficiencies not only allowed us to look at upgrading the existing equipment, but also at integrating additional technologies,” says Hollandia’s Richard Deakin. “With the entire system functioning at peak efficiency, the facility would realize extensive cost savings as well as provide indirect benefits to the community.”

In completing this project, Hollandia upgraded five equipment systems, which when functioning together, would provide exponential savings to the YMCA facility. These systems included a new three-phase pump with variable frequency drive (VFD), diatomaceous earth (DE) filtration system, automatic chemical controller, ultraviolet (UV) light sanitation system, and an auto-water level control system.

“Most pool professionals and facility managers focus on changing the existing pumps on the pool—and rightly so, as today’s new pool pumps provide the quickest, least expensive way to realize cost savings,” adds Deakin. “However, by also looking at additional equipment, the savings from the new pumps are increased exponentially. Integrating all of the equipment in the pump room makes both short-term and long-term economic sense.”

The pump

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From a pump perspective, the equipment used at this YMCA was fairly simple. The existing, undersized pump was replaced with a new high-performance, 10-hp, three-phase pump with a designed flow rate of 1,419 lpm (375 gpm) at 22 m (72.9 ft) with a maximum flow rate of 2,369 lpm (626 gpm). (Note: current codes require the turnover rate for class ‘A’² pools be no more than four hours.)

Historically, pool pumps with induction motors, which operate at only one or two speeds, have drawn more energy than is required to circulate pool water. These units must constantly operate at high speed to perform their most demanding jobs, such as running a waterfall or pool cleaner. On the other hand, it takes far less power to simply keep the pool water filtered—a difference single-speed pumps cannot address.

VFD pumps can be programmed to operate at set speeds to deliver the correct flow rate for each task they perform. This allows the pool’s pump to reduce energy consumption and ultimately reduce operating costs. VFD pumps can also be programmed to achieve turnover rates of exactly four hours, even if the filter is dirty. This allows motor speed, power, and energy to be reduced during times when the filters are clean, instead of sizing the pump to assume worst-case operating conditions.

No matter what type of pump is being used, however, slower pump speeds save energy. Slower speeds also dramatically reduce noise levels and wear and tear on other pool equipment the water flows through.

Starting with a three-phase pump is a ‘no brainer,’ when the motor on the new pump is combined with the VFD, it increases the efficiencies as well as the opportunity to capitalize on better energy savings. In fact, this facility will save approximately 35 to 60 per cent on its energy bills in comparison to using the pump originally installed. Further, it also minimizes the wear and tear on the pump.

As an aside, older pumps with their slower turnover rates are also potentially exposing bathers to more bacteria. As newer filters and/or pumps have a much faster turnover rate, bathers are exposed to fewer contaminants, and as it has been seen with Cryptosporidium (Crypto), less exposure is important to reducing the chance of a possible outbreak.

The variable-frequency drive

The VFD works much like a dimmer on a light switch. The pump’s 10-hp motor can be dropped to a lower (output) horsepower without damaging any wiring or internal mechanisms.

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In this case, the design flow rate of 1,419 lpm (375 gpm) was able to be achieved by lowering the output to 1,400 revolutions per minute (rpm) on the drive. By reducing the motor output from 1,750 to 1,400 rpm, a 20 per cent reduction in the motor’s output was achieved. This also equates to an operating savings of nearly 55 per cent.

Hollandia explained to YMCA facility operators that with the proper hydraulics and VFD system, the facility could save up to 85 per cent in operational costs.

Specified to save energy, space, costs, and time, most VFDs are designed to be the heart of the pump room. With minimal payback time, they provide automatic energy optimization and a built-in DC link reactor to reduce harmonic noise to protect the drive. Some VFDs also offer an initial ramp, which provides acceleration of pumps to a desired minimum speed, at which time the normal ramp takes over, preventing damage to thrust bearings and overheating of the pump.

“Variable frequency drives are quite amazing,” says Deakin. “Several of the facilities where we have installed these drives have achieved an electrical cost savings of more than $10,000 per annum. The units aren’t free, but the pay back is normally less than 18 months. Some municipalities are even providing homeowners with rebates from utility companies, which makes the payback period even shorter.”

The filter

Hollandia also installed a larger DE filter sized to match the pool’s upgraded flow rate, which provides a four-hour turnover. By integrating a DE filter system into the pump room, the facility was also able to realize savings in water usage from cleaning as well as longer filter cycles.

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The DE filtration system is central to reducing water consumption—not just water, but heated and treated water—which is expensive to replace. The filtration system requires only a quick, low-flow power washing every two to three months, whereas a traditional sand filter would use considerable amounts of heated and treated pool water for backwashing. This is usually a weekly occurrence, representing a backwash cycle of eight to 10 minutes, which represents eight to 10 times the flow rate per occurrence in comparison to a DE filter.

Not only are water prices on the rise, but the MOH also requires each commercial facility use a ratio of 20 L (5.2 gal) of makeup water per bather per day. Therefore, a typical aquatic facility, such as this YMCA swimming pool, can have in excess of 150 bathers per day, which would equate to more than 3,000 L (793 gal) of makeup water. When combined with a typical sand filtration system, this can become quite costly. Updating the filter and integrating it into the pump room provides some immediate savings with respect to water bills alone.

The controller

It is important for aquatic facility operators to realize poor water quality can lead to poor air quality. Poor air quality can be a combination of improperly maintained water chemistry, an insufficient filtration system, and a non-functioning air-handling system. These are the typical reasons why chlorine molecules in pool water lose the battle against bacteria and give way to chloramines (NH₂Cl), filling the indoor pool environment with bad-smelling, eye-irritating air.

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If there is an insufficient supply of free available chlorine (FAC) to the pool, the existing chlorine combines with whatever waste is in the water to create chloramines. This process produces off-gassing, which is released into the air at the surface of the pool. It can also become trapped in the moisture that is evaporating to create a toxic soup in and around an indoor aquatic facility. Not only is this gas hazardous to the health of swimmers (and all people in the aquatic environment) it can also quickly corrode a facility’s dehumidification system(s).

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Therefore, as part of the total integration of the pump room, the installation of an automatic controller is paramount. By monitoring and treating water 24-7, facilities avoid excess use of chemicals caused by high-and-low chemical levels and dosing. Further, by ensuring proper chemical balance and treatment, the facility will also benefit, indirectly, from better air quality.

In fact, the MOH and Ontario building code require the installation of an automated chemical controller that will dispense chemicals as needed to ensure chlorine does its job and does not turn into chloramines.

In this regard, a controller was installed for the YMCA facility to provide automated control of the pool’s pH and oxidation reduction potential (ORP) levels, which help to stabilize the water and reduce the over consumption of chemicals.

The ultraviolet (UV) light system

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In order to continue the complete integration of the pump room, an appropriately sized UV system was installed to enhance the facility’s water and air quality. In this case, a medium-pressure UV system was incorporated into the pump room, which not only eliminates chloramines, but also offers the facility a secondary sanitation system that provides cleaner, clearer water.

Once the UV system is installed, chloramines are virtually eliminated and the air is cleared within 24 hours. In addition, the UV unit contributes to reducing the facility’s operating costs as 30 to 40 per cent less chlorine is being used.[9]

The auto-water level control system

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The MOH also requires the installation of an auto-water control system. This system automatically replaces water that is lost to evaporation and bather carry out (i.e. splash out). As mentioned earlier, the MOH requires facility operators to replace 20 L (5.2 gal) of water per bather, per day. Unfortunately, however, this regulation was put into place before the technological advancements mentioned in this article (e.g. filters, chemical controllers, and UV sanitation systems) were available for pools.

Although an auto-water control system was integrated into the YMCA facility’s pump room, there has been growing interest in the revision of this requirement as current technologies have made it redundant.

A green facility

With many municipal and YMCA-type pools struggling to keep their doors open, the integration of all components in the pump room is paramount to ensuring the lowest possible daily, weekly, and yearly operating costs for these facilities.

After hiring Hollandia as the designer/builder to update the Woodstock YMCA and implement these types of operational changes, facility operators realized how much their operating costs would be reduced. Plus, the additional benefits to the facility’s water and air quality would help it remain competitive among the many other private athletic facilities and municipal pools in the region.

In fact, the Woodstock YMCA even promotes the pump room integration upgrades it made, showing that it is a ‘green’ facility and a good steward to the environment and community. By not wasting water and eliminating harmful byproducts, which eventually end up in the community’s water system, the facility is doing its part to be a sustainable part of the community.

“Aquatic facility operators and managers should take the time to look at the big picture as they might be surprised about how some upfront investment can have a huge impact on their operating costs, and possibly even change their entire business model,” says Deakin.

 

 

[11]Mike Fowler is the commercial marketing and sales manager for Pentair Water Commercial Pool and Aquatics in Sanford, N.C. He has been with Pentair since 1992, starting his career in the technical services department at Purex Pool Products. Fowler has held many managerial roles within the company, including marketing, accounting and products. He can be reached via e-mail at mike.fowler@pentair.com[12].

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/ymca-facility-upgrades-its-operational-efficiencies/

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