efficiency
It has always bothered me: Why do we take devices that draw electrical current and install them in aquatic environments where humans get in the water? Even if precautions are taken, isn’t this risky business? To be sure, suppliers have come up with all sorts of measures designed to protect bathers from any potential hazard, and I have nothing but praise for the ingenuity they’ve displayed in surrounding their products with safeguards that minimize concern. But based on my own observations and experience, I must say that
Places just below the earth’s surface have been a resource for heating and cooling basically since the planet took shape. Ever since, all sorts of creatures have taken refuge from excessive heat or extreme cold by burrowing into the soil, and it’s no accident that some of the earliest examples of human self-expression have been found in caves deep below the surface. With pools and spas, however, up until recently there’s always been a legitimate question about whether this timeless heating/cooling approach was workable on any sort of cost-effective basis. If recent projects designed by my firm, Aloha Pools Design Studio (Franklin, Tenn.) are any indication, that question has now been answered with a resounding yes. On the face of it, that answer seems obvious. After all, the U.S. Department of Energy says that geothermal heating is more cost effective than a 95-percent efficient gas heater – and that the same would be true even if 100-percent efficient gas heaters were available. Only recently, however, have the suppliers of these systems reached a point where their equipment is
Designing watershapes of any sort is becoming more and more challenging every day. Where not all that long ago consumers were happy if a pool or spa or fountain or pond simply looked good and operated reliably, there's a new generation of consumers who are much more interested in how these vessels are built and, more specifically, in knowing about how energy efficient they are. This trend is being driven on the one hand by the inevitability of rising utility rates and on the other by legislation such as California's Appliance Efficiency Code (Title 20) - a rule that's attracting the attention of code writers across the country because of the overwhelming importance these days of reducing energy consumption. With that backdrop, this article takes a look at a watershape's main energy consumer and the most basic of all its
Whether you call yourself an environmentalist or not, the current information about climate change and a range of related issues is something you need to consider. Before you react to that statement, be advised that you don't have to accept global warming as fact or anything else experts and scientists might say at face value. What you do have to accept, however, is that there's enough going on in those arenas that your clients are picking up on it - and personally, that's more than enough motivation for me to start paying attention sooner rather than later. In other words, as both enlightened citizens and forward-thinking watershapers, I think things are at a point where it's probably wise to
Whether you call yourself an environmentalist or not, the current information about climate change and a range of related issues is something you need to consider. Before you react to that statement, be advised that you don't have to accept global warming as fact or anything else experts and scientists might say at face value. What you do have to accept, however, is that there's enough going on in those arenas that your clients are picking up on it - and personally, that's more than enough motivation for me to start paying attention sooner rather than later. In other words, as both enlightened citizens and forward-thinking watershapers, I think things are at a point where it's probably wise to
Watershape construction is far more sophisticated now than at any time in history. Swimming pools, for instance, are commonly designed to include spas with complex jet manifolds and a wide variety of controllable effects, while vanishing edges, perimeter-overflow details, multiple water levels and various water-in-transit designs are also increasing in popularity. Fountains and waterfalls and the full range of other waterfeatures also are more elaborate, and what all of them require are well-planned systems of valves to control and divert water to all the necessary components, effects and details. These are situations in which valve choice is, in fact, critical to hydraulic-system design. The many types of valves can be separated into three specific categories roughly according to application. There are some that divert water, others that isolate water and still others that
Whether you build fountains, streams or Olympic-size swimming pools, you need to install a pump of some kind to make these watershapes work. As fundamental and essential as pumps really are, however, it's amazing to think how casual many of us in the trade are when it comes to knowing about how they work and how their performance characteristics differ. We've all heard and used terms like "energy efficient," "high head" and "self-priming," but for the most part, the real meanings of those words get lost in the competitive marketing blizzard that surrounds these products. Without a clear understanding of how pumps are designed and how they do their job, these distinctions are no more than words on a label - and that's not the way it should be. As watershapes become ever more complex and hydraulically challenging, cutting through the hype to find out what truly makes pumps work becomes even more important: No matter how beautiful a design may be, without a properly selected and installed pump working at the heart of the system, the best work will fall short in
Of all the features associated with inground swimming pools, attached spas almost certainly have the most complex designs. Achieving proper hydrotherapy-jet action requires the interweaving of air lines, water lines, fittings, jets and associated pumps, blowers and motors in a way that delivers results the customer wants and expects. And making mistakes is definitely costly: Once the plumbing is set in concrete, there's no easy way of turning back. The bottom line: You have to get it right the first time! Yes, you can adjust inground systems, but it usually involves ripping out expanses of decking and chunks of the spa shell at the very least - definitely not activities that breed customer satisfaction. It's a high-stakes game, but all too often I see pool builders take an ill-advised roll of the dice by not doing the work ahead of time to make sure the
How far we've come since the days of the lazy L, the kidney and the rectangle! During the more than 30 years I've been part of the pool industry, I've witnessed mind-boggling advances in the designs of swimming pools, spas and watershapes of all types. Especially in the past 10 years, the ideas, creativity and workmanship found in residential backyards far surpasses what we saw or even dreamed of 20 or 30 years ago. Back then, you'd have to go to a movie set or Las Vegas to see the exotic designs we are seeing today. I'd even say that today's designers are turning backyard pool environments into
