BMS in the Leisure Sector
Four reasons why professionally optimised BMS is so important in leisure centres
Building considerations
Building considerations
- Most leisure centres include a fitness suite, swimming pools, fitness, studios, sauna and steam room, sports courts and halls, restaurants, bars, toilets which all have different considerations.
- It is important to set the temperatures in public spaces according to the type of activity taking place. For example, overheating of pool water or lack of heating of the ambient air in a pool hall can cause condensation which may increase the risk of damage to the building fabric.
Occupancy considerations
Occupancy considerations
- Customers want to be sweating in the sauna and keeping cool in the gym – if customers are not happy, they will be signing up to membership with your competitors.
- Professionally optimised BMS keeps employees happy and comfortable – the benefit being improved productivity and reduced recruitment costs.
Business risk considerations
Business risk considerations
- All work to BMS controls must be completed as quickly as possible to keep downtime and disruption to an absolute minimum
- Council funding is in decline and operating cost effectively is key
- Keeping occupants comfortable will help maintain membership and staff retention targets
Technical considerations
Technical considerations
- High pool hall air temperatures required — typically 28-30ºC to maintain the comfort of pool users and reduce the risk of condensation from humid air
- Ensure systems are user-friendly
- BMS systems should be designed so they can be monitored and operated correctly by leisure centre staff who have limited technical knowledge
Building Energy Management Systems in the leisure sector
We work with leisure centre owners and operators to maintain their BMS systems, ensuring that the facilities within the centre (such as swimming pools and gyms) are controlled correctly and to the required standards to maintain comfort levels for users.
In a typical leisure centre, energy costs account for 30% of total operational costs, which is higher than in most other sectors. A well designed and maintained BEMS offers efficient control and monitoring of building services, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Essential energy data and graphical representations of plant are displayed on a computer screen in real time and allow setpoints and other settings to be changed quickly and easily. BEMS can reduce total leisure centre energy costs by 10% or more so they are well worth considering for centres of all sizes.
Just by making a 10% improvement in the management of energy use, UK leisure facilities could save up to £70M each year and reduce carbon emissions by hundreds of thousands of tonnes”.
(Source: The Carbon Trust)
Sports and leisure centres with swimming pools are often major users of energy.
Up to 65% of the energy consumed in these centres will be used for pool heating and ventilation. Looking at the way energy is managed can provide substantial savings. (Source: The Carbon Trust)
Common problems with heating and ventilation the leisure centres
- Many BEMS systems function inefficiently because short-term adjustments are made for comfort and are then forgotten about. Intech Controls’ recommends demand-led strategies with automatically compensating setpoints, along with optimum start /stop times which reduce the amount of manual intervention. We can also offer occupancy based solutions which work using sensors to measure occupancy levels, or integration with a facility/room booking system which allows bookings and activities to take place at any time without having to change timing settings.
- Schools with swimming pools and leisure centres have the added challenge of maintaining the swimming pool conditions correctly to ensure swimmer comfort, as well as protection of the building fabric. Swimming pool water is usually heated to 28-30ºC, and to reduce condensation, the air temperature should be 1-2ºC above the water temperature. Maintaining these conditions is energy intensive, and therefore operating efficiently and effectively is key to reducing energy usage.
Intech Controls’ typically works on the following BEMS projects in leisure centres:
- BEMS lifecycle upgrades to replace obsolete / faulty controllers whilst taking the opportunity to redesign control strategies across the facility using the most efficient control philosophies.
- Installation of Trend IQVision head end software to give operators visibility of the BMS, and the connected HVAC plant in the building.
- Energy Surveys to investigate high intensity areas of energy usage, as well as a holistic approach to the operation of the building to identify opportunities for energy savings
BMS benefits for the leisure centres:
- Significant reductions in energy costs
- Energy dashboards quickly tell you where you are wasting energy
- Improvement in building comfort and overall energy consumption
- Air quality improvements
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