Energy analysis of swimming pools for sports activities: cost effective solutions for efficiency improvement

Swimming pools for sports activities are very much energy-consuming since, in addition to the energy requirements that are common to all types of sports facilities (air conditioning and lighting in large spaces, high levels of water heating requirements, etc.), heating, filtration and continuous replacement of water must be considered, which involve huge consumption of natural resources in terms of primary non-renewable energy resources (according to the local fossil/renewable mix) and drinking water, whose use is mandatory. The paper calculates, through our ad-hoc developed algorithm (named EnerPool), potential savings in terms of non-renewable primary energy consumption, achievable through energy efficiency actions involving heating, filtration and water replacement. This work analyses in detail a number of possible solutions to reduce heat needs, therefore allowing high non-renewable primary energy savings (up to more than 50%) at low cost and with a payback time of less than two years. Thanks to the facilities' data (number and size of pools, utilization rate, etc.) supplied by CONI (the Italian National Olympic Committee) about swimming schools and facilities affiliated to FIN (the Italian Swimming Federation), and based on the results of the analysis on energy efficiency actions, this article presents nationwide estimates of the potential savings of non-renewable primary energy through cost-effective efficiency improvement solutions. Furthermore, the solutions analyzed are not alternative to other heat production solutions through high-efficiency systems (condensing boilers, water/air heat pumps, combined heat and power production plants) or by means of renewable sources (solar collectors, photovoltaic panels), therefore achieving economic and energy savings albeit with much higher initial costs.