Cool the Pool
Our recent week of swimming in the Golden Bear pool at water temperatures in the low 70’s has generated some cold-water reflections.
If we were to lower the daily water temperature from 80 to 78, these two degrees would save the university thousands of dollars in heating costs and lower our share of carbon emissions.
If this were applied to all the UC pools, what would the multiplier effect be?
What about all the Pacific Masters Swimming pools? Each community could maintain one warmer pool, for those of young or old age, with special needs or medical problems that require higher temperatures.
In the US, swimming pools collectively consume about 9 -14 kilowatt hours resulting in CO2 emissions of about 10 million tons per year, equivalent to about 1.3 million cars on the road per year. Energy costs go up by 10-30% for each added degree of water warmth.
Why not make our tiny contribution to this massively needed effort since we are among the privileged who have access to a pool? The shift in two degrees might take some weeks to acclimate to. Yes, this is a discomfort. But considering the stakes for our planet, it is nothing.
Alice Jones
even tho Ive lost my pre surgery acclimation to SF Bay temps , i do welcome Alice’s modest couple of degrees lowering of temp (it would be even more of a righteous affect to lower Speker pool temperatures…) , but i n the mean time of it were imposed SOONER RATHER THAN LATER ON, we’d have time to acclimate before winter. I’m for it. as long as we don’t have to wait long for explanations ( and why I still wish workouts were written individually for each lane.
I’m not convinced that people who swim only 3-4 times a week for only an hour will acclimate to the lower temperature. I think this could be a hardship for both seniors and youngsters with low BMI. I would hate to hear that people left the team because the water was too cold for them. We have to save the team as well as the planet!
Hilary
Hello Hilary,
thanks for your comment.
I agree that old and young and those with different metabolisms need a warmer pool.
Spencer tells me that the Strawberry Canyon pool is set at a temperature of about 82.
This is appropriate for kids learning to swim and anyone else who is not able to acclimate.
It’s important that each community, university or otherwise, provide an accessible pool for all.
Alice