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SPN DEC 2011 EnergySaving&GreenNews
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
POLYURETHANE INJECTION INSULATING SYSTEM ‘IS VIABLE’ COUNTERCLAIM
HEATSTAR HELP OUT WITH ENERGY COMMISSIONING PLAN FOR ‘PART L’
Pool builders and designers having to deal with the energy implications on indoor pools from the new building regulations now in force have been offered a helping hand by Heatstar.
Thermal panel production
An accusation that “the swimming pool Industry continues to insulate pools poorly with unsuitable material like polystyrene and polyurethane foams” has been criticised by Polypool, who manufacturer and install insulated swimming pools. The initial comment was made by Thermapool’s Nigel Rose who said that: “The industry just won’t accept the scientific facts and continue to insulate pools poorly with unsuitable materials.” Phil Bruderer from Polypool said: “This statement actually is a direct reference to Polypool as we are the sole manufacturer/supplier of insulated pools using polyurethane injection. “As brought up during meetings with SPATA’s technical committee Polypool’s manufacturing process uses a closed-cell high density polyurethane injection. High density, closed-cell polyurethane does not absorb moisture and is used in deep sea environments to lag/insulate pipe work. “Would it be sensible to assume that a rigorous process would be in place to establish the suitability of a material designed to save lives in the middle of the ocean. If this material takes on moisture would it be fit for purpose? “It is Polypool’s aim to educate and support SPATA and pool contractors by providing them with facts, figures, calculations and the support they may need to push a project over the line. We welcome any questions relating to the Part L legislation and enquiries relating to our range of products and services.”
Phil Bruderer said Thermapool constantly quotes a BRE report as ‘the gospel’ of pool insulation materials and suitable methods available to the UK pool trade.
“This Building Research Establishment (BRE) report was commissioned and paid for by SPATA, Polypool with some input from TOPIC, a company set up by Nigel Rose. This report is merely a generic study into heat losses in swimming pools which offers some guidance as to how and why pool basins should be insulated. Swimming pools should be insulated. That we clearly support as it has been at the heart of our research and development over the past 18 years or so now.
“The BRE report does not ‘scientifically prove’ that Thermapool is compliant with Part L of the Building regulations. It actually states that no less than 100mm of extruded polystyrene, polyfoam or similar would achieve a U value of .25. It is also clear that Thermapool only use 75mm of insulation which is not compliant under the current building regulations. “We are also aware that the grants and interest free loans offered by Thermapool as part of an agreement with one of the energy suppliers is only applicable to outdoor pools. All grants for indoor installation were pulled and are no longer being offered. This is due to the fact that 75mm of the Thermapool insulation board can’t offer an improvement on the .25 U value already stipulated under the Part L legislation.
“Whilst Polypool would also like to see this become a standard there are many issues in terms of rolling this out. There are practicality issues, the main one being how this would be policed. As building control are not involved in outdoor pool installations and many pools don’t require planning permission who is going to enforce this? This could drag on for a lot longer than 18 months.”
The pool industry led by SPATA are still picking up the pieces from the fallout resulting from indoor pools having to comply with the new regulations. Adding outdoor pools to the fray may be one step too far right now although we have no doubt this is the way forward.
“Polypool were instrumental in consulting with the Government leading up to the .25 U value coming into effect.
Polypool now have a comprehensive structural and thermal report on its 125mm Polypool insulated pool panels proving conclusively that Polypool can achieve a U value of .19. This does present an improvement of around 25% on the U value of pool basins compared with the .25 under Part L.
i FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
F POLYPOOL ( 01489 890800 :
www.polypool.co.uk
Heatstar is one of the leading manufacturers of swimming pool dehumidification, heat recovery, ventilation and heating systems and the company has invested to provide expert help on some of the far ranging and significant implications contained in the revised ‘Building Regulations Part L: Conservation of fuel and power’ and ‘Part F: Ventilation’. The new regulations include specific reference to indoor swimming pools in the general scope of the regulations and give guidance how the energy demands on an indoor pool should now be considered. At SPATEX 2011, Heatstar launched the new Phoenix EC system, designed to be fully compliant with the new regulations for both domestic and non-domestic pools. This system features Heatstar’s low energy, variable speed fan technology and specially engineered and enlarged heat recovery modules.
At the quotation stage, Heatstar provides clients with an assessment of the applicable building control regulation requirements and a compliance report for the proposed Heatstar system. From the outset of the project, the builder is expected to prepare and supply Building Control with a formal ‘commissioning plan’, highlighting systems where commissioning is required, including the pool room dehumidification, air heating and ventilation.
At the quotation stage, Heatstar will provide clients with a commissioning requirement statement for the proposed system, which can be included within the ‘commissioning plan’. Heatstar will clearly highlight and confirm the Specific Fan Performance of the proposed Heatstar system.
On new projects, they have updated thermal insulation value terminology to match the ‘K Values’ used within the new building control regulations. Heatstar have updated their boiler efficiency ratings to match those used within the new regulations and have also updated their LPHW flow temperatures and heat output ratings to match those used within the new regulations. On new projects Heatstar have updated their heat load calculations to make allowance for the benefit of the new thermal insulation requirement. Heatstar will continue to provide free unit commissioning and generate a commissioning report in line with the format required under the new regulations.
i FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
F HEATSTAR ( 01983 521465 :
www.heatstar.com
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