It is generally understood that maintaining the internal environment at 50% relative humidity or at least between 40% - 60% is best for a multitude of reasons such as to avoid condensation on windows in winter. But humidity can also play a big part in reducing risks to our health. For example, understanding the link between relative indoor humidity and the rate of Influenza A infection is essential in reducing the spread of harmful virus particles that can affect humans.
Humid air can occur in a whole variety of places, and firstly we might think of more obvious indoor spaces such as swimming pools or sports centres where activity creates a lot of moisture in the air for obvious reasons. But we might also consider where moisture is created in our day-to-day living. Such as within an office environment where there are often high volumes of people, or in a residential home where we are cooking or having showers for example.
In this article we will look at Swimming Pool Dehumidification:
Not only can indoor swimming pools and areas come in all shapes and sizes they must be managed for continuous operation. Indoor comfort is of vital importance to bathers or guests of course but also the building must be energy efficient with as little impact on the environment as possible whilst being economical for investors and operators.
It important that an air treatment solution must manage high humidity as well as a variable temperature during times of low or high capacity.
The ventilation of swimming pools and spas is one of the most discriminating tasks of air treatment systems. Such systems should produce an air temperature appropriate to the water temperature so that swimmers do not feel too cold when stepping outside of the pool. They ensure that the air humidity is considered agreeable by visitors – and not too stifling, particularly for staff who must stay indoors for a full working day. The dehumidification process will also protect the structure from mildew formation – here people and the fabric of the building will benefit from effective climate control.
Private Pools
It is important that the designer plans air dehumidification or climate control with the knowledge that private swimming pools have long intermediate periods when they are not in use, unless you are a fish! These empty phases must be taken into account in the design, since during this time the units can reproduce the indoor climate and thus prevent mildew from forming around the indoor space, avoiding damage to materials and unpleasant odours.
For sports:
Ok to install a cabinet unit in the vicinity of the pool itself
For comfort:
Rear wall installations or a central arrangement are certainly an idea worth considering
Public pools
In contrast to smaller private pools, there are only a few rest periods when the dehumidification process can be engaged. Dehumidification is highly important in order to avoid damage to the building and installations.
How have swimming pool dehumidification solutions changed over time?
In the past:
A fan was installed with an outside air connection and would simply exhaust the moist air on a regular basis into the atmosphere. However, for a modern energy conscious society this solution is not well suited as it requires large quantities of energy being wasted by heat extraction.
Today:
We first remove the moisture in the air using a heat pump and heat recovery, capture the condensation produced before then draining it off into a waste water system. The heat simultaneously removed from the air is resupplied to the now dry air and released into the swimming pool area. As a rule, this cycle suffices to maintain the room temperature to the correct level and in addition can be used to gain heating energy for pool water heating.
Products system solutions from FläktGroup are designed to deliver the best air comfort to maintain ideal humidity indoors. FläktGroup smart air technology solutions provide energy efficient solutions - even at extreme outdoor conditions. https://www.flaktgroup.com/en/products/air-treatment/swimming-pool-dehumidification/
