We are in the finish stages of an indoor swimming pool project for the Lititz Rec Center. The project is going swimmingly (sorry, couldn’t resist that one) as the crews are cooperating well in some tight quarters. Jay Andrew, the project super, recently got all the MEP crews to agree to move up the schedule for ceiling painting by three weeks, which was a pleasant surprise.

Yesterday, I visited a manufacturing facility to witness the testing of the swimming pool dehumidification system. The PoolPak Technologies Corp. in York, PA truly impressed me with their quality workmanship and attention to detail.  Everything from the plastic spacers on the copper tubing runs to the weld beads indicated pride of workmanship. The rooftop mounted HVAC and dehumidification system is shown below.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mark Graybill, the whiz kid engineer from Accu-Aire Mechanical, convinced the PoolPak folks to add a two stage fan with a timer so we can have more ventilation at swim meets but still save energy during the normal low loading of the pool. That kind of engineering makes me optimistic about the future.

As I spoke with one of the PoolPak owners, we delved deeper into that idea. He mentioned that they strive for “Efficient, Smart and Green.” Rather than just playing to the LEED certification guidelines, they work to make sure their units and features really make sense in the real world of a swimming pool environment. They focus on heat recovery for pool water and air, as well as smart controls that keep the system from doing unnecessary work.

As the Lititz Rec Center maintenance manager and I drove home from the test, we were both pleased with our selection. I felt a further satisfaction for engineering and construction in America. The reports of our death are greatly exaggerated.