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Freedom Leisure has now installed Airius in over 30 centres and believes there are many more where savings can be achieved
DESTRATIFICATION FREEDOM LEISURE | AIRIUS
Freedom Leisure is working with Airius to reduce the energy required to heat its indoor pool halls, while maintaining optimal temperatures and customer comfort. Market leader in destratification fan technology, Airius’s patented solution moves air in a way that stabilises temperature in everything from office blocks to airport hangars to leisure centres, improving comfort levels while reducing the need to constantly inject more heat. Its fan units are ideally suited to indoor leisure applications – including, uniquely, indoor swimming pool halls. “In simple terms, we take the hot air you’ve paid for – but which naturally rises to the ceiling – and push it back down to surface level where you need it,” says Airius business development manager Paul Yates. “In some pool halls, there can be as much as a 7–10°C difference in air temperature at the ceiling versus at pool level. We reduce that difference to within 1.5°C,
continuously recirculating the air at a controlled speed to equalise the temperature and create a constant, comfortable environment – not too hot and not too cold. “You can change the air speed to control how much heat comes down, keeping pool-level temperatures exactly where you want them. We see many operators able to reduce their set points on their thermostats – the heat of the air they’re pumping in – by several degrees. “Every building is different, but the average pool operator saves around 35 per cent on heating costs and a 12–20 per cent reduction in humidity. Additionally, for most projects, ROI is less than two years.” Fast results Freedom Leisure is “very proactive around energy-saving and decarbonisation” and has achieved great results with Airius, adds Yates.
At Hailsham, the set point was lowered 3°C and still spectator comfort complaints were reduced following Airius installation
Trialling the technology at Hailsham Leisure Centre and Malvern Splash Centre in June 2023, significant results were achieved within a matter of weeks. At Hailsham, the pre-Airius starting point saw 173m 3 of gas used to heat the pool area, with a 29°C set point. In week two, with the fans now on, the set point stayed at 29°C but gas usage dropped to 152m 3 . In week three, the set point was lowered to 26°C and gas usage fell to 118m 3 – a 32 per cent saving. Spectator comfort complaints were also reduced. Meanwhile, at Malvern, the set point was reduced by almost 3°C. “The success at these initial sites supported our applications for funding and grants across England and Wales,” says Angela Brown, head of sustainability and environment at Freedom Leisure. Freedom Leisure has now installed Airius in over 30 centres, with discussions underway around installing the fans at “many more sites where we believe significant savings will be achieved”, says Brown.
Airius fans push hot air back down to surface level where you need it
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023 STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2024
STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2024
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