Every swimming pool requires a heating and temperature control system. There are many types of swimming pool heating equipment, broadly categorized as: hot water boilers (water-to-water exchange using heat exchangers), steam boilers (steam-to-water exchange), solar energy storage heating, and swimming pool temperature control heat pumps. Among these, swimming pool heat pump heating is the most cost-effective heating system. Below is a brief introduction to the application of swimming pool heat pumps in swimming pool facilities.
A heat pump is a product specifically developed for swimming pools. It integrates air conditioning, dehumidification, and pool water heating, recovering and comprehensively utilizing a large amount of energy to overcome problems such as high humidity and high chlorine environments. By changing its operating mode according to the seasons, it achieves highly efficient and energy-saving operation. Its working principle is as follows: It recovers and utilizes the heat loss due to evaporation from the pool water surface, transferring it into the pool water and air to compensate for heat loss in the pool water and air, while simultaneously achieving air conditioning and dehumidification functions. Its working procedure can be roughly divided into two steps:
First, warm and humid air flows through the lower part of the heat pipe heat exchanger and the evaporator, causing the temperature to drop. Warm water vapor condenses into cold water droplets and separates from the air, making the air dry and achieving the air dehumidification function; at the same time, the heat energy released during air cooling, water vapor condensation, and cooling processes is absorbed by the refrigerant.
The second step involves the refrigerant absorbing heat energy. In the water-priority heating mode, the heat energy is first used to heat the pool water via a shell-and-tube condenser, thus achieving the pool water heating function. When the pool water reaches the upper limit of the constant temperature setting, the refrigerant, under the automatic control of the system valves, heats and cools the air via a coil-type air condenser, thus achieving air insulation. In the air-priority heating mode, the air is heated and cooled via a coil-type air condenser, thus achieving the air insulation function. When the air reaches the upper limit of the constant temperature setting, the refrigerant, under the automatic control of the system valves, heats the pool water via a shell-and-tube condenser, thus achieving a constant pool water temperature.
Since heat energy is conducted through walls and windows and lost through ventilation, when the heat energy generated by the heat pump is insufficient to meet the requirements, an auxiliary air heater can supplement the heat energy needed for indoor heating. The heat pump only needs its own operating electricity to continuously cycle according to the above working procedure, achieving a harmonious balance of the three major functions of "pool water heating, air conditioning, and dehumidification" with low energy consumption.
Heated swimming pools are usually indoors; outdoor heated pools are less common. Common heating methods for heated swimming pools include electricity, natural gas, diesel fuel, solar energy, hot water, steam, and coal, depending on local conditions. Electric heating can also be used, typically through electrical equipment such as constant-temperature furnaces or air-source heat pumps. A constant temperature furnace uses heating wires directly for heating. While the equipment itself is relatively inexpensive, it consumes a large amount of electricity. For a standard pool with 2250 tons of water, heating the water from 10 degrees Celsius to 27 degrees Celsius would cost tens of thousands of yuan in electricity for the first two days, and nearly a thousand yuan per day for maintaining the constant temperature thereafter. For maintaining the temperature of a swimming pool, using a constant temperature furnace is impractical. Heat pump heating also uses electricity, but the operating cost of a heat pump is only 2/5 or 1/4 of that of an electric constant temperature furnace, and can be as high as 1/8. This is because the working principle of a heat pump is not direct heating with electric heating wires, but rather using a compressor to circulate refrigerant to achieve a physical change and obtain heat energy. As we know, the change from liquid to gas requires the absorption of heat energy from the air, and the compression of gas into liquid also generates heat energy. The heat pump utilizes these two physical principles to transform low-pressure, low-heat gaseous refrigerant into high-pressure, high-temperature liquid, and then releases the heat energy through a reverse process, transferring it to the pool water, thus achieving heating in a cyclical manner.
