Project OverviewA private apartment complex located in Alice Springs with a large outdoor swimming pool and a smaller toddler pool. Both pools are salt water chlorinated and have a combined total water volume of 220,000 litres. The pools were operating with three existing 2.2kw 240v pool pumps and sand filters.
Challenges
The owners of the apartment complex were spending approximately $8,000 per year on pumping costs alone and $2,000 every three years on pump replacement. The original layout of the plant room presented accessibility and OH&S issues.
Solution
Photon Solar – Active Electrical installed three LORENTZ PS1800 Solar Pool Pumps, each with 3kw for a total of 9kw of solar and a PP2000 Power Pack, to allow for switching to mains supply if required.
The plant was re-plumbed with ease of access to pumps in mind and remote isolation switches, to improve convenience and safety during maintenance and backwash.
Result
The LORENTZ pumps were sized to turn over the pool volume four and half times a day on solar alone. Grid back up was fitted to ensure filtration was available before and after open hours and during periods of extended rain and cloud, all of which was set up to be fully automated.
The owners were extremely impressed with the water quality and clarity, and the reduction in chemical use greatly improved the feel of the pool water.
This was achieved by providing higher filtration rates without an energy cost penalty for the customer. This will have the added benefit of cost saving on chemicals and general pool maintenance over time. The expected payback to the customer will be under three years.
