Thames Centennial Pool is an outdoor pool facility run by the Thames Coromandel district council, offering a range of ‘learn to swim’ and training opportunities, as well as ensuring space for relaxation and fun. It’s also an old establishment that has gone through several heating systems to heat their 25m pool.

Their very first system back in the late 1980’s, comprised five locally made heat pumps supplied and installed by Hot Water Heat Pumps Ltd (HWHP) to extend the summer swimming season.

In 2005, five imported heat pumps were installed into the pool. Then after 5-6 years, the district council decided they would replace the five imported heat pumps with a wood chip boiler. This wood chip boiler caused a number of maintenance issues throughout its life.

Then in early December 2019, Powell Fenwick Consultants made contact to discuss available options for heating Thames Centennial Pool to 29°C all year round, using air source heat pumps. HWHP came to a decision that the 7GP280-3vm model would best suit, and by early July, HWHP installed the units.

The modular Performance Plus Air-Source Heat Pumps installed at the facility feature HWHP signature Titanium-Tube Heat Exchangers, as well as fully hermetic Copeland Scroll Compressors, heavy-duty powder-coated galvanised steel structure, and epoxy-coated evaporator coils for excellent corrosion protection, active de-ice control, and an advanced control system for precise operation and peace-of-mind remote monitoring.

Using HWHP’s Titanium-Tube Heat Exchangers, the 7GP280-3vm modular heat pumps heat to the swimming pool directly. The efficiency of a heat pump is defined by many factors, foremost among these, however, is the evaporating temperature — determined by the air temperature, and the condensing temperature — determined by the temperature of the water. By eliminating secondary heating loops which would require hotter water, the heat pump only heats to the desired set point temperature of the swimming pool. This means the heat pump does not have to work as hard or run as long, and as a result has higher efficiency, lower running costs, and a longer lifetime.

HWHP’s advanced PLC control system actively controls every aspect of the modular 7GP280-3vm heat pump electronically for better efficiency, flexibility, and reliability. Programmed in-house, their advanced control system brings IoT connectivity to swimming pool heat pumps. This allows the user to monitor the pool and change settings from anywhere, on their smartphone or computer, and the manufacturer to monitor the heat pumps remotely, diagnosing and solving potential issues before they become a problem. Some key items to be measured and monitored by the advanced control system is the electrical energy input to the heat pump, and the heat output produced by the unit. Although the heat output measurement is not a standard feature, they opted to include it for this project to gather data about how their heat pumps perform under various operating conditions. This data is very valuable to the team at Hot Water Heat Pumps Ltd who constantly work to improve their products and ensure the highest possible performance.