Combined heat & power


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More splash for your cash E


Keith O’Connor, chief executive of Fleetsolve explains the financial and carbon benefits of combined heat & power in swimming pools


nergy costs are threatening the survival of our swimming pools. Since October 2022, around 350 pool facilities have been forced to cut back


on services because of soaring energy bills. Some of this number have actually closed down on a temporary or permanent basis. The Chancellor’s spring Budget brought the


promise of £20 million to help struggling pools in England, but the other countries in the UK are still seeking the funding they need to stay afloat. Demand for swimming pools may be higher than


ever, but the sector is still at risk if pool operators can’t keep their services affordable in the face of historically high energy costs. Communities risk losing this important asset, and roughly 17,000 people risk losing the jobs.


Complex challenges


It’s hard for pool operators to skimp on energy use. Swimming pools consume more energy per unit area than almost any other building type – five times more energy per square metre than, say, an office block. The reasons are obvious: the need to keep the pool at a consistent temperature and provide warm changing rooms with hot showers. Many pools are also part of a wider leisure centre, gym or spa which will have its own energy needs such as air conditioning, equipment operation and lighting. This means a hefty heating bill plus the need for a lot of electricity.


This has the potential to be extremely expensive


and wasteful. When you buy electricity from the grid, a huge amount of waste has occurred before the power even reaches you. This is because a conventional power plant turns nearly two-thirds of the source energy into heat, which disappears into the atmosphere. Sites using grid electricity then need to either run electric heating systems or have a separate system for heating with its own waste issues.


Combined heat and power (CHP) is very different.


It involves generating electricity on site and then capturing the resulting heat for an organisation’s heating needs. As well as drastically reducing thermal energy waste, this type of energy generation bypasses the grid and therefore avoids the usual losses in the transmission and distribution networks. CHP typically has an efficiency of over 80%, compared to around 50% for using grid electricity plus a gas boiler. CHP operators typically save at least 20% on their


energy bills. In some cases this could be as much as 40-50%. The higher electricity prices go, the higher the savings.


22 July 2023


Left: Keith O’Connor, chief executive of Fleetsolve


Cutting emissions, reaping the benefits


Keeping the lights on


Generating on-site power through CHP doesn’t just mean less wasted energy. It also means greater energy security. Organisations generating their own electricity are less vulnerable to fluctuating electricity prices, currently coming down from their summer 2022 high, but still significantly higher than the levels in winter 2021/22. It means removing the need to sign an electricity supply contract, with all the attendant uncertainties. It’s not so long since the National Grid warned us


all that load shedding was a possibility – a remote one, but still a possibility. This could mean that businesses lose access to power for certain periods while the grid rebalances. We don’t know if this is going to become more or less likely in future, but with a CHP system, organisations can remove the likelihood of it ever happening to them.


CHP is already a sustainability win compared to the conventional combo of grid electricity plus a gas boiler, simply because of the efficiency gains. Many CHP systems are currently powered by natural gas as a transition technology, but increasingly, organisations are realising the carbon reduction benefits of renewable CHP. Fleetsolve designs, manufactures and installs CHP units entirely powered by its range of low-carbon biofuels; a good example is our award-winning unit on the campus of South West College in Enniskillen. As the UK develops hydrogen delivery networks,


CHP systems will be ideally placed to take advantage of this green fuel, too. The government is sending a strong signal that


it wants the leisure sector to reduce its energy- related emissions. It is likely to continue using the “stick” of green taxes and the “carrot” of funding for compliant projects – most recently the £40 million Swimming Pool Support Fund, helping local authorities in England to improve energy efficiency. To access funding like this and avoid being on the wrong side of future regulations, swimming pool operators urgently need to explore how they power and heat their facilities. Fleetsolve has expertise in delivering systems that are green enough to qualify for any incentive schemes while also reducing exposure to green levies.


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