An indoor pool puts a large amount of water into the air every hour. Left alone, that moisture fogs windows, drips from the ceiling, rusts steel, rots the roof deck and makes the room uncomfortable to be in. A standard air conditioner cannot handle it. Heat Wave, Inc. installs and services dedicated pool dehumidification systems for hotels, fitness centres and other indoor pools across North Carolina and Virginia.
Why a pool room needs its own system
Pool rooms are kept warm and humid on purpose: the air temperature is held a little above the water temperature so swimmers do not feel cold and the pool does not evaporate faster than it has to. A pool dehumidifier is built for exactly that. It removes moisture from the air, holds the room temperature, and can return recovered heat to the pool water or the room instead of throwing it away.
Installation
We install dehumidification units from Dectron and other makers, with the ductwork that delivers dry air along the windows and exterior walls where condensation forms first. The system also keeps the pool room at a slight negative pressure to the rest of the building, so humid, chlorinated air does not drift into corridors or guest rooms. We coordinate with the pool contractor and the general contractor on water connections and schedule.
Start-up and service
A pool dehumidifier only works if it is set up for the room it is in. We start the unit, set the temperature and humidity targets, and check that air is reaching the surfaces that need it. Afterwards we service the systems we install: filters, coils, refrigerant and controls, before a small problem turns into a wet ceiling.
Hotels and pools
Indoor pools are common in hotels. Because we also do guest-room HVAC, rooftop units and kitchen hoods, a hotel can have one mechanical contractor for the whole building, pool room included.