Executive Summary

The US Department of Energy's Reduce Swimming Pool Energy Costs (RSPEC) initiative developed and distributed a set of consumer-oriented fact sheets and the Energy Smart Pools software package to over 1300 pool owners, builders, and product manufacturers and retailers since the fall of 1994. The purpose was to promote the adoption of cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy measures in swimming pools. An evaluation request for feedback was recently sent to all who had received the materials to determine the impact of the program.

Conservatively estimated, after just one year of operation the RSPEC program has produced the following results:

With a minimal Government investment, the RSPEC program has generated significant sales of pool energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies resulting in significant energy savings. These are very, very conservative numbers since they are based only on the fourteen percent of RSPEC program participants who returned the evaluations. Results are also from only one year of use. Results will continue to multiply as savings accumulate over the years, more pool industry people receive the RSPEC materials, and more energy efficiency and renewable energy products are sold.

Background

The US Department of Energy's Reduce Swimming Pool Energy Costs (RSPEC) initiative has focused attention on the significant energy costs of the nation's 4.3 million heated swimming pools and spas. RSPEC has promoted the adoption of cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy measures to reduce these costs. The key tools used in the program are a set of consumer-oriented fact sheets and the Energy Smart Pools software package which allows the user to input data and receive a projection of potential savings to be realized by implementing a variety of energy management systems. The fact sheets and software have been distributed to pool owners and to the pool industry for their use in promoting their energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. RSPEC materials were developed for use in the US, but is being used in many other countries as well including Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand. The RSPEC tools have been widely distributed since the fall of 1994.

During the month of December, 1995, approximately 1300 evaluation requests were mailed to pool builders, pool product manufacturers and retailers, and pool owners. The purpose was to determine the impact of the RSPEC! Energy Smart Pools software and literature. A copy of the evaluation request is included in Appendix A to this report. Approximately fourteen percent of the evaluations were completed and returned in the postage paid envelope provided. Results were divided into two general categories and tabulated in a spreadsheet format. Full summary spreadsheet results are included in Appendix B to this report. Not everyone answered every question, so results are based on the totals who answered each given question. A summary of the results follows.

Results - Pool Builder, Product Manufacturers and Product Retailers

Pool builders and pool product manufacturers and retailers returned 146 evaluations. an average of two thirds of the services and products were for residential customers with the remaining one third to commercial customers. Seventy-seven percent of the builders, manufacturers and retailers who returned evaluations indicated that the RSPEC! materials increased their awareness of pool energy efficiency and of energy efficient pool products. The software was successfully installed and operated by eighty-two percent of the respondents. Less than one third encountered problems installing or running the software.

Sixty-eight percent of those who replied indicated they were using the RSPEC materials to provide information to customers, to promote energy efficient technologies, or for other purposes in their business now. Almost all who used the RSPEC! materials in their businesses reported that the materials helped in selling energy efficient or renewable energy products. Respondents indicated the RSPEC materials were essential for making the majority of products sales. Table 1 summarizes product sales due to RSPEC.

Table 1: Products Reported Sold by Builders, Manufacturers, or Retailers

Results - Pool Owners

Pool owners returned forty-five evaluations. Ninety-one percent of owners who responded stated that the RSPEC! materials increased their awareness of pool energy efficiency and energy efficient pool products. Approximately eighty percent successfully installed and operated the RSPEC! software, and only eleven percent experienced any problems. Forty one percent of participating owners purchased pool covers, and an additional twenty-nine percent were considering purchasing a pool cover. Results are summarized in Table 2. The full results from pool owners are shown in the spreadsheet in Appendix B.

Table 2: Reported Purchases by Pool Owners

Energy Savings

A scoping estimate of the energy savings generated by the RSPEC program was obtained by first estimating the average energy use of pools represented by respondents to the evaluation, and estimating average product savings for the average pool. This average product savings was then multiplied by the number of reported sales.

A previous study1 used the Energy Smart Pools Software2 to estimate energy use of commercial and residential pools in the U.S. Statistics were collected on populations of heated pools in seventeen regions across the country. Models were run for different pool types in each region based on typical operating schedules and conditions. The average commercial pool (public and semi-public pools) was estimated to be 2100 sq.ft. and the average residential pool 800 sq.ft.

Results showed annual heating energy use of the average commercial pool to be 1580 x 106 BTUs per year, or about $9,500, while the average residential pool heating energy use was 330 x 106 BTUs per year, or about $1900. Respondents to the RSPEC evaluation indicated 2/3 of their business was for residential pools and 1/3 for commercial pools. Based on these numbers an approximate average heating energy use of pools represented in this survey is about 742 x 106 BTUs per year. An approximate estimate of the motor circulation pump size is 4 HP, operating 4380 hours per year, using about 13,000 KWH per year.

For purposes of this scoping estimate, it is estimated a pool cover saves 50% of the energy use, a solar heating system saves 50% of the energy use, an efficient motor will raise the efficiency from 80% to 90% saving about 11% of the pump electrical use, and a high efficiency heater will raise the efficiency from 75% to 90%. The cost of fuel will be estimated at $6/106BTUs and $.08/KWH. The estimated product savings are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Estimated Product Savings

Table 4: Total Savings Generated by RSPEC After One Year

The Bottom Line

The RSPEC program has aided or directly been responsible for the sale of over 600 pool covers, solar heating systems, efficient motors, and efficient heaters. Cumulatively, these probably represent over $1 million in sales. RSPEC has generated a minimum savings of over 155 trillion BTUs and 111,000 KWH worth over $785,000 per year.

These results should be viewed as a very, very conservative representation of the success of RSPEC. They represent reported results from only fourteen percent of those who received the materials. They also represent results from only one year of use. Savings will multiply as more owners and pool industry personnel use the RSPEC materials over the years. An additional 300 packets have also been distributed since the evaluations were mailed.

General Observations

The majority of participants were pleased with the RSPEC! software and the results it produced. Many wrote useful comments on their survey and they are included in this report in Appendix C. The majority were appreciative of the program and its impact on their operations. Some of the complaints about the software included its requirement for more sophisticated PCs, the need for better printer compatibility, and requests for a Macintosh version.

Conclusion

RSPEC! has been a successful program. Conservatively estimated, pool owners have saved $785,000 and 155 trillion BTUS after only one year of the program becoming widely available. The pool industry has generated probably over $1 million in sales due to the program. The software has informed both buyers and sellers of pools and pool products of the economical and environmental advantages of using energy smart technologies. In addition, many of the survey participants were interested in leaning more about pool energy efficiency and were eager to receive updated versions of the Energy Smart Pools Software and RSPEC! literature.

References

1. Lawson, Jones, & Martin, "Annual Energy consumption of Heated Pools in the United States", Proceedings of the 18th World Energy Engineering Congress, Atlanta, GA, November, 1995.
2. Jones, Martin & Gunn, "The Energy Smart Pools Computer Program", Proceedings of the 18th World Energy Engineering Congress, Atlanta, GA, November, 1995

This web site is posted here as a service by R. L. Martin & Associates, Inc.. This is a former U.S. Department of Energy program that no longer has any funding so the information is provided here as is.  There is no one to answer any questions anymore, but the site still contains very useful information.