Swimming pool and domestic heating and heat pumps

By Asjylyn Loder, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, March 29, 2009

A solution to Florida’s sky-high electric bills could be right under our feet.

Dig down a couple of yards below the surface, and you’ll find Florida’s earth stays at a steady 72 degrees, a perfect heater in winter and a cool respite in summer.

“I think there is an enormous untapped potential in the country,” said Jeff Tester, an expert in geothermal energy at Cornell University in New York.

Florida lacks the scorching heat and steam that makes geothermal electricity, but its balmy earth can help Florida save power. By some estimates, home­owners can cut their heating and cooling bills by 50 percent or more. The technology has been around for decades but has only recently begun to gain traction.

“People really don’t know about it yet,” said Fred Mayes, a senior technology analyst at the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy. “People have seen solar panels before, but may not think of geothermal heat pumps.”

Now, with generous new federal subsidies, could geothermal become Florida’s next big thing?

• • •

To sell a geothermal system, you’ve got to start with education, said Todd Boudreau, who has installed dozens of geothermal heat pumps. Few homeowners know how they work.

“It hasn’t been widely publicized the way it should have been, but with things changing in our economy, and rising utility costs the way they are, people are very interested in how to save money,” Boudreau said.

In most ways, geothermal systems in Florida work the same as a regular air-conditioning system, Boudreau said. Both systems use a combination of refrigerant and compression to transfer heat in or out until the house reaches the desired temperature. For the customer, the thermostat is almost exactly the same.

To understand the big difference, think of the Earth as a giant battery heated by the sun. Geothermal taps that natural battery by snaking a pipe a thousand or so feet long under the surface. It is filled with water, or a mix of water and other fluid, like antifreeze. The loop can be laid in horizontal squiggles snaking under a property at a depth of six to 10 feet. If the lot is small, the ground loop can be drilled vertically to depths of several hundred feet.

In Florida’s colder months, the ground loop absorbs the ground’s 72 degree heat and transfers it to a heat exchanger, where it becomes hotter. A fan then draws the home’s air through the system, heating the air and circulating it back through the house.

In cooling mode, a fan sucks hot air from the house into the system, where the heat in the air is removed. Just like your fridge, the heat is removed from the inside and transferred outside, in this case to the cool ground.

Why is geothermal more efficient than conventional systems?

In winter, it uses the ground’s heat instead of burning fossil fuels or using electricity to make heat. In summer, the ground acts as a natural condenser, replacing the electric condenser.

The system is also more efficient because of the ground temperature. For instance, in the summer a conventional unit transfers hot air from the home to the hot air outside. Geothermal systems transfer the hot air to the cold ground. The cold ground is better at absorbing the heat than the hot outside air.

To think of it another way, when you jump into a cold lake on a hot day you lose body heat much faster than if you are standing on the shore.

As a bonus, the geothermal system transfers heat all year long to the home’s water pipes, giving customers free hot water.

The Energy Department estimates that it cuts electric bills by 25 to 50 percent. Boudreau said energy savings in Florida can reach 80 percent.

“The benefits of this are unbelievable,” Boudreau said.

• • •

If it works so well, why isn’t everybody doing it?

“That old four-letter word: cost,” Mayes answered.

Boudreau estimated that a geothermal system costs about two to three times a conventional heating and air-conditioning system. In these tough times, it’s hard to talk a homeowner into parting with that kind of cash.

Andy Bednarz, a pilot, recently installed a geothermal heat pump at his new lakeside property in Lutz. He got a $9,000 estimate for a conventional four-ton system but decided to spend $23,000 on a geothermal system.

His old 2,000-square-foot house had power bills from $265 to $350 a month. His new 2,359-square-foot-house has power bills of about $150 a month.

“It seems like a big bite, and I don’t like to give away money by any means, but I did some higher math, and this should pay for itself in six years,” Bednarz said.

Boudreau agreed, saying the typical payback time is four to six years. The systems are quieter and last 25 to 30 years, two to three times longer than conventional systems. Replacement costs are comparable because the drilling only need be done once.

It’s a logic that appeals to home­owners facing rising electric bills, Boudreau side. His company, Air Conditioning Solutions, has seen sales double in recent years as his handful of satisfied customers spread the word to neighbors, friends and family. Although it’s still just a fraction of his business, he’s seeing more interest than he has in the past.

“People are willing to spend money to save money,” he said.

• • •

Bednarz is part of an upward trend in geothermal.

Florida has been on the leading edge of the growth. The state is home to one of the best-known heat pump manufacturers, and it is among the top five states for installing geothermal heat pumps, and is also in the top five for exporting them to other states.

Shipments of geothermal heat pump capacity increased 53 percent in 2006 and 19 percent in 2007, according to a recent report from Mayes’ office. In 2007, the most recent year Mayes has numbers for, the United States shipped enough geothermal heat pumps to heat and cool 97,000 U.S. homes.

Despite the steep growth, geothermal heat pumps make up a tiny share of the market. In 2005, the pumps were installed in just one in every 1,000 U.S. homes, the Energy Information Administration estimates. Even with the annual growth predicted between now and 2030, it estimates that only slightly more than one in every 100 U.S. homes will have geothermal heat pumps.

The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act might kick-start interest in the heat pumps. The stimulus legislation gives homeowners a tax credit that covers 30 percent of the cost of the system.

“We don’t know that answer yet, but it should bump it up a little bit,” said John Symbalsky, a research analyst with the Energy Information Administration.

Boudreau thinks he knows what the response will be. Armed with information on the new tax credits, he’s already fielding calls from potential customers.

Did you know? • The average U.S. homeowner uses a 3-ton system for heating and cooling. • Geothermal heat pumps can cut electricity use by 25 percent to 50 percent. • Geothermal heat pumps have been used in some cold states to melt snow on driveways and walkways. • The underground coils for geothermal heat pumps are expected to last 50 years or more. • Geothermal heat pumps are expected to last 25 years. • Source: Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy

Swimming pool heating specialists

A green future where you can borrow cars and drink rainwater

* Alok Jha
* The Guardian, Saturday 28 March 2009
* Article history

A low-carbon economy will be the culmination of thousands of decisions by governments, businesses and individuals about how we choose to balance environment and economy. There isn’t one correct future but many, with each detail in each country dependent on the will of its people.

One thing is certain, though. Anyone concerned about having to give up their modern lifestyle for an austere existence can rest easy. The big differences between now and the low-carbon future will not be the way the world looks or what we will be able to do in it, but how it is arranged.

The biggest hurdle is electricity. Three-quarters of our global electricity needs come from burning fossil fuels. The low-carbon future will demand that none of that electricity emits carbon dioxide. So every gas or coal-fired power plant, of which there will be many in China and India, will have carbon-capture technology to trap and store CO2 underground. Renewable sources including wind, tide, wave and sun will, through investment in basic research in the coming decades, be commercially viable. Far from being forbidding installations belching out carbon dioxide, renewable power stations will be smaller, emit no CO2 and tap into near-limitless supplies of free fuel.

Clean electricity will have a knock-on effect on the other modern carbon nasty - transport. When electricity is cheap and clean, there is no reason not to use its power as much as possible. Electric cars, buses, lorries and high-speed trains will move us and our goods, yet make no contribution to global warming. Though mass public transport will be the travel mode of choice, personal cars will remain. You might not own one yourself, instead borrowing from clubs when needed. By planning towns around pedestrians and investing in cycle lanes, local councils will encourage travel under two miles to be under your own steam or by hydrogen buses.

Flying will be a problem. Improved aerodynamics, lighter aircraft and mixing biofuels into jet fuel will bring down the carbon cost of air miles. Carbon reductions in energy production and road transport will mitigate some of the rise in emissions from the growth in flights in China and India, but environmental campaigners will not be satisfied. Expect punishing taxes on plane tickets, tied to their carbon cost, to discourage flying unless there really is no alternative. In these situations, a personal carbon-rationing system, linked to national CO2 emissions targets, will allow individuals to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

But the number of long journeys, particularly for work, will drop dramatically as high-speed internet connections enable high-quality video conferences and easy communications for people on different sides of the world. Many people will stop commuting to their offices or factories, preferring to work from home.

Homes might look the same, for nostalgic reasons, but will be fundamentally different. Bricks coated with solar paint will be held together with cement that soaks up CO2 from the air around it. Triple-glazed windows will reduce the need for heating in winter and cooling in summer.

Only the most energy-efficient fridges and washing machines will be available to buy while LEDs in lamps and displays will turn electricity into light efficiently instead of wasting most of it as heat. Automatic controls will warm rooms only when needed and switch appliances and lights off when they’re not needed.

Our throwaway culture will disappear. By encouraging people to re-use as much as possible, less waste will end up in landfill and the carbon in our possessions (the stuff emitted to make our clothes, toys or furniture) wil not be wasted. Products will be made to last and, when they come to the end of their useful life, be repaired rather than thrown away. Packaging will be virtually nonexistent and, where it exists, will be recyclable or compostable.

People will use water more carefully. Rain will be collected from home and office rooftops and filtered using carbon-free electricity so that it is drinkable. Any water drained away in a building will be recycled and treated locally to wash clothes or flush toilets. Bottled water will be banned.

Food will come from local farms or factories to reduce the carbon cost of transport. Meat lovers, because of their high-carbon diets, will have to use up their personal carbon rations whenever they bite into a steak or else make sure their food comes from local, sustainable farms that produce meat artificially.

Locally-produced electricity will also play a big part in keeping homes carbon free. Solar thermal panels, community-based combined heat and power plants running on carbon-neutral wood chips, micro wind turbines and ground source heat pumps mean that local districts won’t need all their power from today’s centralised power stations. Local heat and power networks could even feed into the national grid during times of great demand.

This is one of many visions for a low-carbon world in 2050. It seems a long way off and whether we get there depends on decisions made over the next few years.

Swimming pool heating specialists

Swimming pool heating specialists

Some hotels, fitness centers turn to saltwater to ease the burn

By Julie Deardorff
February 05, 2009

Indoor swimmers know that chlorine is a necessary evil. We love the harsh, sanitizing chemical when we see how many unshowered people inhabit public pools. We hate its clinging smell and that it leaves us with red eyes, green hair and see-through swimming suits.

Some hotels and health clubs, however, say there’s a new alterative: saline pools. These saltwater pools that taste like the ocean are often touted as an “eco-friendly” and “healthy” answer to chlorine because fewer chemicals are needed.

“Saline has less of a smell, and it’s easier on your skin, eyes and swimsuits, ” said Randy Mau, asset manager for Xsport Fitness, which uses saltwater pool technology in 12 of its Illinois health clubs.

But don’t be fooled: Saltwater or saline pools use chlorine too. The difference is that the owner has purchased a salt generator to manufacture his or her own chlorine or bromine, according to the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals. “A salt pool equals chlorine [or bromine pool],” the group says.

The traditional way to add chlorine to a pool is to dissolve a tablet or pour liquid chlorine into the water. Saltwater chlorinating systems use electrolysis to release chlorine gas from the salt in the water. The chlorine gas mixes with the water to create liquid chlorine, which is then delivered back to the pool.

Though saltwater generators still use chlorine, proponents say they reduce many of the aggravating effects associated with chlorine, which are technically caused by chloramines.

When chlorine is added to the water, it mixes with organic matter—sweat, saliva, dandruff, urine—and turns into other chemicals, including chloramines. After chlorine kills contaminates in the water, more chlorine is needed to burn the chloramines out of the water. A pool’s chlorine smell means chloramines are airborne and the pool needs to be maintained, said pool designer Terrence LeBeau, the general manager of the commercial systems division for Halogen, a Chicago pool equipment and chemical supplier.

Saltwater generators deliver a constant stream of chlorine, making chloramines less of an issue, which is good news for a swimmer’s skin or eyes. The salinity is about 1/12th of the salinity of the ocean. Element and Elysian, two hotels that will be opening in the Chicago area this year, will have saline pools.

Still, there’s plenty of debate over the true benefits of these pools. “They’ve been in the marketplace several times and never stay long,” said LeBeau. “It’s just not a good way to put chlorine in the pool. It’s corrosive and creates other problems; even the electrical consumption to do the manufacturing in the equipment room is expensive.”

When I recently tried the saline lap pool—which had the familiar smell of chlorine—at Xsport’s State Street location, I was mildly annoyed by the salty taste of the water. The three other swimmers in the pool were either happy with the saltwater, or like me, noticed no significant difference. But Kevin Dutton, a 32-year-old Chicago chiropractor and budding triathlete, said that after his workouts, “I feel it on me the rest of the day.”

For a list of pools around the world that use alternatives to chlorine, go to the “Healthier Swimming” blog at piscinasana.blogspot.com. ]

A pool chemistry glossary

Chlorine: In the pool industry, the generic word “chlorine” normally refers to any sanitizer that releases free available chlorine—also known as hypochlorous acid—when dissolved in water, according to the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals. Chlorine sanitizers are the most commonly used pool sanitizer. Chlorine is also a strong oxidizer, which destroys contaminants, kills microorganisms and removes other impurities in the water.

Bromine: Any sanitizer that releases available bromine—also known as hypobromous acid—when dissolved in water. Also a strong oxidizer.

Ozone: A supplemental treatment used with a primary sanitizer such as chlorine or bromine. Ozone, a reactive gaseous oxidizer, is generated by a device called an ozonator, which disperses ozone into the pool water. Still, ozoneca harmful, so pool plumbing should be designed to minimize ozone exposure to swimmers.

Swimming pool heating specialists

By EDWARD LEWINE
Published: March 11, 2009

You can’t compare the chic and exclusive private Manhattan swimming pool to its commonplace suburban cousin. There are around nine million residential pools dotting America’s backyards, according to the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals, an industry trade group. But in Manhattan, people familiar with the local scene say, there are fewer than 100 single-family pools.

“The pool is a phenomenal amenity,” says Steven Schnall, 41, who has a heated 48-foot-long lap pool on the sixth floor of his 11,300-square-foot TriBeCa town house. “It reeks of spectacular.”

The time, money and effort required to wedge a pool into a private Manhattan residence are equally spectacular. At one time, most such pools were found in town-house basements, but they’re increasingly being installed on the upper floors of town homes and apartment buildings.

“The basement pool doesn’t have much appeal,” says Schnall, an entrepreneur who recently sold the mortgage business he founded. “Our pool is flooded in natural light.”

It takes about nine months and a minimum of $280,000 to construct a private pool in Manhattan, says David Plotkin, whose company, Steelways, has built more than 600 elevated city pools since 1960. Suburban pools are often made of concrete or vinyl, but city pools tend to be made of stainless steel, which won’t bend or crack when buildings sway and shift.

The biggest headache in constructing an urban pool, Plotkin says, is getting the ma­teri­als where they’re needed. In addition to the pool itself, immense steel beams are needed to support the weight of all that metal and water. “A typical pool is going to weigh 150,000 to 200,000 pounds filled,” Plotkin says.

The 18-month effort to build the 11-by-17-foot pool on the roof of Matthew Keiser’s TriBeCa condo involved negotiations with the City Landmarks Commission and feats of engineering. The pool, built by Diamond Spas, had to be designed so it couldn’t be seen from the street to comply with local landmark requirements. And its flat edge, with water runoff captured by a concealed gutter, necessitated installing the pool exactly level on a slanted roof.

Before the pool could even be installed, though, a series of 51-foot beams had to be hauled five stories up Keiser’s building. “To truck steel beams that size into the city,” Keiser says, “we had to get a permit to close the Lincoln Tunnel.”

Todd Harris, whose pool-maintenance company in Edison, N.J., services around 20 private Manhattan pools, says customers spend between $350 and $1,200 a month to keep their pools running, whether or not they’re taking daily dips. Keiser says he swims almost every day. But many of the pools go untouched. “These pools are definitely underused,” Harris says. “If people are using them, we never see it.”

One of the challenges for Cayenty to supply their range of swimming pool heat pumps over a large geographical area, i.e. the whole of Europe has been the installations. We have gradually developed a network of dealers in many areas but the reality is that if we have a dealer for example in Malaga and our customer wants his heat pump installing in Granada the distance for our dealer to travel to install the heat pump is either too great, even though this roughly the same area of Spain or the cost for the client for the dealer to travel and install is to much.

It is also challenging for us to find decent dealers who have the right balance of commercial resource to sell the units and the right technical standard and indeed qualifications to offer a full installation service at the right level.

The answer for us has ben to develop the Easy Install Power Box and the Quick Fit By-Pass.

The power box is almost a plug and play, where the client needs to supply the same cable as the tails supplied with the box, to the length required and connect to the terminals on the heat pump and circulation pump and the other end to his power supply.

We also supply a lovely little made up compact water by-pass to simplify the water connections.

Consequently , self install of our heat pumps is now within the capability of anyone with a hacksaw and a screwdriver.

Below are some extracts from our marketing literature:

For the connection of Any heat pump up to a power consumption rating of 2.6kW – If your heat pump is of a greater rating than this please contact our technical department to verify the components are of the correct rating.

Calyenty have developed the easy install power box to enable owners of heat pumps to connect their new heater to the electricity supply quickly and simply, and minimizing on the need to employ the services of expensive qualified electrical engineers. This box is tough and waterproof.

The Calyenty Easy Install Power contains a differential for total peace of mind and safety when operating an electrical Heat Pump, for example in a swimming pool environment. This device detects any tiny change in current which may indicate danger and will cut the power immediately

The box also contains all the other automatic breaker components and devices necessary for the safe and reliable installation of a swimming pool heat pump or any other heat pump or air conditioning unit.

Preferably mount inside.This power box is configured to comply by European safety standards.

Also Ask about our Easy Install water By-Pass

Swimming pool heating specialists

Matthew Claxton, Langley Advance
Published: Tuesday, March 03, 2009

The water treatment plant in Aldergrove will soon use less energy thanks to a heat pump.

Langley Township will share in a $100,000 project that will help cut greenhouse gases at the Aldergrove Water Treatment Plant.

A new thermal recovery pump system will be jointly funded by the province, the federal government and the Township, with each partner taking on a third of the costs.

The project is part of the first wave of infrastructure projects that will break ground quickly across B.C. The federal and provincial governments are pouring money into infrastructure in an attempt to ward off the looming recession.

The new system for the Aldergrove plant will consist of a new thermal recovery pump system that will take heat from the groundwater that is processed through the plant, reducing the reliance on natural gas at the plant.

“Grants that help improve infrastructure in our community are always appreciated, especially when the environment will benefit as well,” said Township Mayor Rick Green.

He also thanked Fort Langley-Aldergrove MLA Rich Coleman and Langley MP Mark Warawa for helping to bring the project to the Township.

“I am especially pleased, as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment, that Langley is taking a leadership role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Warawa said.

“This will provide more sustainable and better treatment of our water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Coleman said.

This project is one of 41 projects across the province that will break ground quickly thanks to a joint federal-provincial investment of $110 million.

In Langley City, a $9-million joint project will see the bridge over the Nicomekl River at Fraser Highway replaced with a new four-lane span.

Swimming pool heating specialists

Analysis of: HPTCJ (Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan) (www.hptcj.or.jp)

Implications: Please see attached URL of HPTCJ. Japanese Heat pump technology is very well. And, advanced Japanese Green enagy companies prepare the great products. The name is “Ecocute”. It use Heat pump technology.When that products or technology with Solar Thermal use overseas Japan, especially large amount of sunlight region, those save the Earth on the Verge of Global Warming.

Analysis: Though it is natural, Heal pump is Thermal strage system.
As well you know, Solar thermal plant construction cost is cheeper than Photovoltaic plant and it is easier to maintenance than wind power plant.
But, Solar Thermal plant cannot use in the dark night or small amount of sunlight region.
When Solar Thermal and the heat pump supplement each other, Solar Thermal can be used anywhere on the earth.

The night comes to the desert where a lot of amount of sunlight, and the daytime comes to the Northern Europe.
So, there is sunshiny anywhere (Though there is bigness and smallness of the amount) on the earth.
The thermal storage of excessive sunshiny in daytime can be done to the heat pump in the desert. And, electricity can be generated by the thermal storage energy at nighttime.
The thermal storage energy can be used to supplement Solar thermal planti n Northern Europe.

Heat pump technology is established already. In Japan, “Ecocute” of home Heat pump system is used over 1.5 million sets right now.
Certainly, Solar thermal plant is developing and it might be a technology that directionality is not consolidated.
However, PS10 in Spain with a capacity of 11MW large-scale Solar thermal plant is constructed by BlightSource Energy. In South Africa, a 100MW solar power plant is planned with 4000 to 5000 heliostat mirrors, each having an area of 140 m².
Solar thermal runs fast in spite of chaos.
I feel that there is a phoenix only in chaos.
Chaos is preparations to the change.

Swimming pool heating specialists