Lee County Parks & Recreation Department has long been a true Aquatic pioneer among Florida’s Parks and Recreation Departments. In the late 1970’s and early 1980‘s, they installed and operated automated water chemistry controllers before it became a mainstream technology. In 1996 they were featured in a National Recreation & Parks (NRPA) magazine article for installing CES interactive controllers that allowed remote control over their pool chemistry, heaters, and pool lights, thus being one of the pioneers of “Remote Control” of pool operations.

Now Lee County has taken another step ahead of the pack by putting together a “GREEN TECHNOLOGY” demonstration project on the Pine Island Community Pool in Phillips Park. Joe Rooney, well known and respected in the Florida Aquatics Industry, has been with Lee County Parks for nearly 20 years. When it comes to pools, he has seen it all.

Joe was one of the driving forces behind this latest “Green Initiative”. The goal was to install market-ready, proven technologies on well-operated pools in order to verify potential savings first hand.

Once the savings were verified, the most dynamic conversions could be implemented on the other pools.

Joe reports that, while it will be a few more months before their utility bill verifies his findings, he has seen a huge difference in energy and chemical consumption, as well as labor needs for servicing chlorinators or handling chemicals.

Look under the hood: The Pine Island Community Pool is a 183,000 gallon multi-purpose pool. It is heated, open 5-7 days a week year-round, and offers a wide variety of exercise, “Aquacise”, and  both deep & shallow water aerobics. It is a great site for a Green Initiative demonstration as it is one of several pools in Lee County that share the exact same design, making it easier to evaluate before and after operating costs side-by-side.

Green initiative well thought out: Joe did a lot of independent research, and working with CES, came up with a plan of action that included the following several technologies. Together, these technologies would address the MAJOR energy consumers. Here are a few of the new technologies:

Saline Chlorination: At first, Joe was not overly excited about saline chlorination. Over the past 20 years, he had heard all of the horror stories about abandoned, residential-grade, service-intensive units that produced marginal savings. He took a closer look at CES’s industrial-grade units on larger and smaller pools alike, and agreed to give it a shot. The Pine Island saline chlorinator consists of a single 25 lb. cell that is 10-20 times larger than the typical residential-grade system. It produces 95% of the facility’s chlorine needs, while providing soft and silky pool water for patrons and their guests.

Today, Joe is true believer in CES saline chlorination. The proof is in the pudding, he says. Since December, he has used less than 20 gallons of backup chlorine and he says that most of that was used to clean the pool deck. The salinity level is being automatically controlled as well, so the pool maintains the pleasant mineral pool feel without the salty taste and odor found in typical bleach pools.

The chemical savings are terrific, and Joe is concerned that the backup chlorine will go bad many months before he has a chance to use it. Next, Joe will be installing a CES Pulsar tablet feeder as his redundant chlorinator. The Pulsar tablet holds its full rated strength for up to two years.

Variable Frequency Drives (VFD’s) and high efficiency motors: Joe had done considerable research on VFD’s, and he knew what to expect. He knew that VFD’s slow down the speed of the pump to produce dramatic savings while maintaining (DOH) Health Department-mandated flow rates.

But Joe says that it’s one thing to read about the savings, but he has continually seen the VFD’s operating at 38 Hz (out of 60 Hz). Some quick calculations verify that the motors are operating at 63% speed. Based on industry calculations, this means that the units are using 25.1% of the power associated with running at full speed (.63 x .63 x .63 = 25.1%).

The VFD’s receive their signal from the BECSys5 controller which is programmed to provide 509 GPM per DOH code. When the filters are clean the pumps will run a bit slower, and will automatically speed up as the filters get dirtier. The BECSys5 continually maximizes electrical savings 24/7, without operator involvement.

Here are some of the other Green Systems which were previously installed at Pine Island:

Interactive Chemistry Controllers: While Joe has worked with nearly four generations of CES Chemistry controllers, all which did a good job maintaining the chemistry -- these current BECSys5 units are different. Joe’s staff likes the intuitive menu and simple operation. Meanwhile this controller monitors and controls all facets of the Pine Island Pool operation....from saline chlorination, backup chemistry, pH feed, pool circulation flow, even the heaters can be operated from a single control source. Originally installed in 2007, this BECSys5 controller was given a 2010 facelift with new firmware and 4-20mA boards designed to drive all the new functions. Before the saline conversion, the chemistry controllers were saving over 30% of normal chemical costs. Now its role is to maintain pinpoint control over the saline system and DOH-mandated redundant feed system.

Pool Covers & High Efficiency Heat Pumps: Pine Island Pool has utilized CES pool covers since 1995. A few years ago they added high-efficiency heat pumps that heat the pool for a fraction of  the cost of other heater types. The combination means that this Lee County Green Demonstration project is heating the pool for approximately 1/10th the cost of an uncovered LP Gas heated pool. Those savings have been well documented using both laboratory and field research.

Automatic Pool Filters with permanent media: Installed by CES in 2002, fully automatic, permanent media filters keep the pool sparkling clear with little or no operator involvement. There is no powdered media to dispose of, and the units use a fraction of the water to backwash a typical vertical sand filter. The operation of the filter can be easily verified with the clear observation port, and the 100 PSI, non-metallic design means that this filter will be around for a long time.

What’s Joe’s favorite part? We asked Joe what was his favorite part of the Green Demonstration project, and he says its a combination of the savings and the decreased handling of chemicals. He notes that safety is #1 at Lee County, and the new green upgrades have minimized Health Issues...making the conversion as popular with his staff as with the Risk Management department.

How much does it cost to Go Green?  If you’re like Lee County the cost is virtually NOTHING. That’s right, the Pine Island conversion is another example of a CES Positive Cash Flow (PCF) energy conversion. That means that the technologies save more money on a monthly basis than they cost on a short term lease. At the end of the lease, the equipment costs $1...and the savings continue for years to come. Not all energy conversions work this way, but CES has identified several no-risk conversions that historically have paid their own way with thousands of customers like yourselves.

Interested in a Green Demonstration at one of your facilities?  If you are interested in seeing if GOING GREEN will work for you, simply contact your CES Rep. We will put together a preliminary evaluation of your facility to see if saving energy will also save you money.

CES has over 27 years of experience in the successful application of energy saving technologies on swimming pools, making us widely regarded as industry energy pioneers. But it takes true pioneers like Joe Rooney and Lee County Parks and Recreation Department to implement those technologies, and carry the savings to their patrons.

Nice job Joe...Keep up the great work.

Stay tuned to future issues to see the results of Joe’s cost savings with his “Green Demonstration Project”.