North Shore Pool Going Green!

Earlier this year, Mayor Rick Kriseman announced a major environmental project at St. Pete’s North Shore Aquatic Complex. The project involves a mix of renewable energies which combine solar and ground water with more default means of energy conservation. As a result of the project, energy savings will exceed $20,000 annually with additional savings in water and chemicals.

The ultimate goal of the project is to replace the 10 air-cooled electric heat pumps with equivalent capacity geothermal heat pumps. These new pumps work by using the constant temperature of groundwater to heat or cool a refrigerant that is used to control the pool temperature. North Shore Pool’s water temperature will be more efficiently maintained at 82 degrees year-round. The new equipment is projected to have a 20 year service life, twice that of the existing pumps. 

The solar aspect of the project is the last of 20 sites that have photovoltaic modules installed as part of St Pete’s Sunlit City Parks Initiative that started back in 2008. The modules will offset the electrical consumption of the building.  The site will be outfitted with temperature sensors, irradiance sensors and other devices that collect date sent directly to the National Renewable Energy Lab for their use and transmission back to the ‘Burg’s solar kiosks.

Affiliated Engineers, Inc. is the electrical consultant for both projects. LEMA Construction is the general contractor for the solar installation. Installation is expected to begin immediately with minimal disruption to the pool’s operating hours. The solar project is expected to be completed by spring and the geothermal system and filtration work is scheduled to be completed by September of this year.

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