Evaluating the energy performance of indoor pool halls in aquatic centers : an integrated approach

Aquatic centers are complex building facilities designed for dynamic recreational activities, with additional amenities like gyms, restaurants, studios, and sports halls to accommodate diverse user needs. Unlike residential buildings, these facilities receive limited attention in sustainability efforts despite their high energy consumption, which could be four to five times that of an office building. Indoor pool halls within aquatic centers exhibit unique characteristics and energy variations due to interactions among the indoor environment and pool surfaces. While energy assessments using various indicators are practiced in certain countries, methodical energy performance evaluation for these facilities remains underdeveloped. Additionally, current literature lacks life cycle-based energy performance assessments, which are essential for evaluating overall sustainability. Accordingly, this study developed a framework to integrate life cycle thinking into energy performance upgrades for indoor pool halls. This study proposed a simulation-based energy assessment methodology for indoor pool halls, followed by the integration of life-cycle emissions and costs to evaluate operational and envelope upgrades for improving the energy performance. Subsequently, recommendations for optimal operational conditions were provided based on the projected implications of future climate conditions. The developed approach was applied to an existing facility in British Columbia, Canada, as a case study. The results revealed that pool water heating accounted for the largest share of estimated energy use, approximately 50% of the total, followed by ventilation fans (20%) and dehumidification (11%), respectively. Operational upgrade scenarios yielded up to 30% energy savings, with ventilation and pool water temperatures contributing significantly to variations in total energy use, accounting for approximately 92%. Envelope upgrade scenarios resulted in up to 0.9% savings in total energy use, with improved glazing insulation contributing the most. Furthermore, the relative performance of these operational and envelope upgrades may shift under future climate scenarios due to changing heating and cooling demands, with annual energy demand intensity projected to increase by up to 0.4% by the mid-21st century. The developed energy performance evaluation methodology provides valuable insights for decision makers, enabling them to evaluate energy efficiency measures that balance short-term energy reductions with long-term environmental sustainability, economic viability, and climate resilience.