New climate control system for public swimming pool saves energy

Outdated air handling system was underperforming

The Beja public swimming pool, located in the Alentejo region of southern Portugal, faced significant challenges with its outdated dehumidification system. The existing setup consisted of two outdated units installed in the technical room, lacking both heat and water recovery capabilities. These inefficiencies led to high energy consumption, suboptimal indoor air quality, and difficulty maintaining the desired water temperature of 28 °C. Furthermore, the lack of space in the technical room was a further obstacle to upgrading the system.

The swimming pool is managed by the Beja city council, serving as a vital recreational and health facility for the local community. Located in a region characterised by high summer temperatures, the facility required a modern solution to ensure a comfortable and energy-efficient environment for its users.

Solution: A custom-made combined heat pump and dehumidifier

To address these challenges, the company Lumelco in Portugal, a distributor of HVACR systems, conducted a thorough analysis to identify the most efficient and cost-effective solution. The decision was made to replace the two old units with a single, high-performance DanX XWPS unit from Dantherm Group. This modern dehumidifier includes advanced heat and water recovery features, significantly improving energy efficiency while ensuring optimal indoor conditions.

Due to the size of the new unit and limited space in the technical room, the installation was moved outdoors. To protect the unit from environmental factors, a protective roof was added.

Ana Vale, Prescription Channel Manager at Lumelco Portugal, highlighted the importance of a strong supply chain from manufacturer to distributor and installer:

“To be successful in this kind of projects, providing the best solution for the end-client, it's very important that we as the distributor work together as a team with our customer like here the installer, Efima, and that we can provide a very high-quality product like the DanX, with very good efficiency and installation versatility. The variety of this product allows us to get an edge in almost all projects.”

Superior customer experiences through innovative technology

The new solution has delivered numerous benefits to the Beja public swimming pool:

• Enhanced comfort and air quality: The improved system ensures proper air temperature and humidity control, eliminating moisture-related issues like condensation on windows. The air quality has also significantly improved, as the unit can operate with varying levels of outside air intake.
• Consistent water temperature: The water can now be consistently maintained at 28 °C without excessive evaporation, meeting user expectations and enhancing the overall swimming experience.
• Energy savings: The advanced heat and water recovery features of the DanX XWPS unit have drastically reduced energy consumption, allowing the city council to save on operational costs.

Because of the custom-made solution, the Beja public swimming pool now provides a safe, comfortable, and energy-efficient environment for its users, ensuring long-term sustainability and cost savings.

The DanX XWPS air handling unit is a combined heat pump and air dehumidification system. The combination of heat pump and highly efficient cross flow heat exchanger is designed to perfectly control the humidity and indoor temperature. It’s specifically designed for the aggressive swimming pool environment with an epoxy-coated crossflow heat exchanger, coils with aluminium frame, pre-painted fins and epoxy coating to protect all fasteners, bolts and nuts. 

See product information or watch the timelapse video of the installation of a DanX XWPS in Denmark: