They bear the full brunt of energy price increases.

Often criticized for their high consumption of gas or electricity, French swimming pools are trying to protect themselves from soaring energy costs.

“In the current context, we expect an increase of more than 70% in our electricity expenditure for 2022”, estimates Stéphane Chatenet, director of the La Conterie swimming pool, in Chartres-de-Bretagne.

Located a few kilometers south of Rennes, the equipment opened in 2008 has been working for ten years to limit its expenses with the help of the intermunicipal syndicate.

Efforts crowned by obtaining, in May, the first swimming pool of tomorrow label, which rewards the most eco-responsible French public swimming pools.

The installation of dimmers was the most convincing.

“Since 2018, we have reduced our electricity consumption by more than 40% by equipping our motors with drives in order to better adjust consumption to attendance.

Consumption is calculated as closely as possible by algorithms”, explains the director.

The gas boiler has been replaced by a wood-fired boiler supplied by the 12 surrounding municipalities.

The swimming pool also had its 3 km of pipes insulated with rock wool to limit the heat in the basements, where the temperature flirted with 30°C and overheated the boiler.

When it is very hot outside, the temperature in the pools is regularly lowered to 27 degrees to slightly reduce consumption.

Swimming pools forced to reduce their consumption

Taken together, all the savings measures taken by the establishment have made it possible to consume fewer kilowatt hours today with three pools than with two in 2012. A costly project but which was entirely financed by the " energy saving certificates” (CEE), which obliges energy suppliers to finance energy saving works.

By 2030, French swimming pools will have to reduce their energy consumption by 40% compared to 2010, under a decree issued within the framework of the Elan law.

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