"The measures we have taken to reduce our energy consumption will not lower the level of comfort and the quality of our services," assured Laurent Deville, chairman of the board of directors of the Coque, looking at minister of energy, (déi Gréng), who regularly uses the infrastructure of the National Sports and Cultural Centre.
Just like the 600,000 annual visitors, the energy minister will have to get used to a little colder water when swimming in the Coque's pools. As in other aquatic centres, the board of directors has decided to lower the water temperature. Depending on the pool, the temperature has been lowered by between 0.5 and 2 degrees. For example, the water temperature in the Olympic pool (50 metres) is being reduced from 27 degrees to 26 degrees, while the temperature in the learner pool (25 metres) is being lowered from 28 degrees to 27 degrees. The sport and health pool and the paddling pool will drop from 32 degrees to 30 degrees.
The biggest drop in temperature will be felt in the relaxation area, where the warm outdoor pool will now be 12 degrees instead of 35 degrees. "We know that one degree less in a swimming pool can save up to 8% on its energy consumption," said Turmes.
Closing the snow cabin
To continue reducing its energy consumption, the Coque also decided to better configure its pumps and slightly lower the room temperature, in addition to reducing the power of lighting both internal and external. Lighting intensity will be reduced from 80% to 50% in the evening. Above all, the National Sports Centre will reduce its opening hours. From 15 October, the aquatic centre will close at 9pm, compared to 10pm at present.
Also noteworthy are the closure of the snow cabin, the delayed opening of the saunas and the acceleration of the existing project to replace the existing lights with LED lights.
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Similar measures have already been taken in other aquatic centres in Luxembourg. For the capital's swimming pools, the City of Luxembourg has decided to lower the temperature of its pools by a few degrees in order to achieve 12% energy savings. Specifically, pool temperatures between 27.5°C and 29°C will be decreased to between 26.5°C and 27°C. The same applies to the room temperature, which will be reduced by 1 to 2°C.
Similar measures will also be implemented at the Redange swimming pool. Managed by the office of the "Réidener Schwämm" inter-municipal association, the aquatic centre has already announced measures aimed at lowering the water temperature, on top of modified opening hours. The pool has announced a reduction in water temperature of 1 to 2°C in order to achieve 5 to 7% of energy savings.
From a technical point of view, the pool will also reprogramme its pumps to run at night, a measure that can reduce electricity consumption by 50%. Water flow in the showers will also be limited, in addition to other measures such as the use of LED lighting or the closing of the main entrance door.
During the autumn months, the Redange swimming pool will open a little later. It will open at 11am on Saturdays and at 10am on Sundays.
Strassen and Differdange study the possibilities
At the Strassen swimming pool, management is currently working on what measures it will take and has launched evaluations to find ways to reduce energy consumption. For the Syndicat intercommunal des communes de Bertrange et Strassen, which manages the aquatic centre and its 25 employees, the energy bill could also rise rapidly as gas is mainly used to heat the site. The centre welcomes 360,000 visitors per year.
It should be noted that last August, the cost of entrance and subscription rates for the Strassen swimming pool were increased for the first time in 8 years. Management justified the higher prices by saying they had incurred an increase in general costs and not by rising energy prices.
In Differdange, Aquasud is also prepared to take measures in consultation with the municipality. However, the director of the swimming pool explained that technical teams are already optimising the facility’s energy consumption as much as possible. In addition, under normal circumstances, the water temperature is already a little lower than in other swimming pools in the country.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.