Small Indoor Swimming Pool heating, Dehumidification and ventilation

Small Indoor Swimming Pool heating, Dehumidification and ventilation

Hello there,

I'm a new member, just joined today on the recommendation of a newly-met friend.

Is there anyone out there who can help me unravel the confusion that I have been placed in by various manufacturers, designers and so-called specialists, concerning a system of space heating, ventilation and dehumidification for a small indoor swimming pool that I am having installed at my house in the Gironde, inside a converted hangar with a linkway corridor to an outside door of the house.

Please don't suggest I ask my pool installer/building contractor, because he confuses me as much as anyone.

I append below in blue the enquiry/specification that I have been sending to various suppliers in the UK and elsewhere (e.g. Denmark), in the hopes of obtaining a satisfactory proposal and quotation. (I have sent a similar document but in French, to the few specialist companies I have been able to locate over here).

I wouild be extremely grateful to anyone who can offer advice and/or sensible suggestions.

Thank you.

Melvyn Anthony

"I wish to install a HRV heating, dehumidifying and ventilating system for the indoor pool at my house in France, to enable all-year round use. If this is something you can supply only (we have our own installers), then relevant information is as follows:

The pool is 8m long x 3.5m wide and 1m40 deep, so has a surface area of 28m2 and a volume of 40m3. It is housed in a room that is being converted from a barn and connected to the main house by a short corridor. Building construction will comply with current required U values. The pool "hall" is 13m long x 5.5m wide x 3m high (71.5m2 and 225m3). There is a large void between the insulated ceiling and the tiled and felted roof which can contain fans, machines, ducting, etc. At one end there is a small pool equipment room which should have sufficient space for more machinery, and also there is a small shower room with wc and washbasin.

It will not be possible to install underfloor pipes or underfloor ducting.

Wall openings contain a set of full-glazed upvc patio doors, a hinged half-glazed upvc door, and 3 upvc windows. There is also a half-glazed upvc door into the connecting corridor and another into the equipment room and shower room area.

The roof void must be well-ventilated. The pool can be heated as part of the overall system or we can install a separate air to air heatpump for this.

The link corridor can be heated/ventilated as part of the system, or we can heat it separately via a radiator off the main house central heating. What is important is that moist air be kept out of the corridor, presumably by maintaining an appropriate air-pressure differential between the corridor and the pool "hall".

System requirements will be:

Pool water temperature - 28 degrees C (even when down to -10 degrees C exterior)
Pool "hall" air temperature - 30 degrees C (even when down to -10 degrees C exterior)
Pool "hall" humidity - 50 to 60 percent
Ventilation needs (based on moisture evaporation given the above temperatures, plus natural ventilation of 0.25ACH) - 7.5m3/minute (450m3/hour)and an 800m3 air volume inflow has been suggested.

I do hope that you can propose and supply a suitable system at reasonable material costs.

If additional heat in addition to that which is recovered is required to achieve the desired air temperature, then this can be provided by a second air to air heatpump (or a larger heatpump can be used to heat the pool water and supplement the heat-recovery as needed). A reversible facility to cool the air in summer could be nice."