Piranha Swimming Club — Integrated Pool & DHW Heat Pumps with 110 kW Solar PV
Piranha Swimming Club has two continuous thermal demands rather than one: pool-water heating and domestic hot water, both operating throughout most of the year. The engineering objective was therefore to reduce dependence on conventional fuel-based heating while efficiently serving a high and persistent thermal load.
Fuel-based water heating was replaced with air-source heat pumps. MICROWELL units were assigned to pool-water heating based on actual facility operating hours and thermal demand, while a separate high-temperature unit with storage was dedicated to domestic hot water. Thermal storage allows sudden hot-water demand to be supplied from stored energy rather than requiring the compressors to respond directly to every peak.
The pool circuit was also reorganized using a plate heat exchanger to isolate pool water from the heat pump equipment. Filtration and circulation piping was reconfigured, while controls were positioned for practical operator access and monitoring.
Perfect Solutions Engineering also designed and implemented a 110 kW grid-connected solar PV system at the site. Because the dense urban property did not offer one roof large enough for the required array, the PV system was distributed across three locations: an elevated structure above the pool-hall roof that preserves access to rooftop equipment, a solar canopy above the play area, and a solar carport above the parking area.
The key engineering value of the project lies in integrating generation and consumption. The same team that sized the heat pump systems also designed the PV system, allowing generation capacity to be based on a measured and understood electrical load rather than simply on available roof area.
Consumption and performance records are still being collected, so no savings figure is published until a reliable measurement period has been completed.
Challenges
Serving two continuous thermal loads within a heavily utilized sports facility—pool-water heating and domestic hot water—while reducing dependence on fuel and improving operational efficiency.
The constrained urban site created an additional challenge for solar generation, as no single roof area could accommodate the required PV capacity without interfering with existing building and site functions.
Solutions
An air-source heat pump system was implemented using MICROWELL units for pool-water heating, together with a separate high-temperature heat pump and storage tank for domestic hot water. The pool-water circuit was isolated through a plate heat exchanger, while filtration, circulation, and control arrangements were reorganized.
In parallel, a 110 kW grid-connected solar PV system was designed and distributed across three different areas of the property to use available space without compromising its original functions.
The PV generation system was sized around the actual electrical demand of the thermal systems, integrating energy generation and consumption within one coordinated engineering strategy.
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