Public swimming pools, expensive equipment particularly vulnerable to rising energy prices

There is water in the gas: around thirty public swimming pools temporarily closed their doors on Monday, September 5, after their operator, the company Vert Marine, said it was unable to cope with the explosion in prices Energy. Impossible to pass on to the municipalities the tripling of the costs suffered, explained the public service delegate company, which manages 90 swimming pools and ice rinks. An incident which illustrates how inflation, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the difficulties of gas supply, very concretely affects the daily life of the French.

Why are swimming pools, often heated by gas, so expensive? Explanations.

A popular public service at the expense of municipalities

The municipalities and communities of municipalities assume almost half of the public expenditure for sport, according to the Observatory of local finances and public management (OFGL). Swimming is one of the most popular activities. The pools are expensive to build and maintain, but communities, concerned with carrying out the social mission of public health and swimming education, are reluctant to increase entrance fees.

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Under these conditions, swimming pools are systematically and structurally in deficit, and the slightest increase in operating costs jams the system. The example of the agglomeration of the Pays de l’or, near Montpellier, offered a striking example of this at the start of the school year: the energy and water bill for its four facilities fell from 400,000 euros in 2021 to 700,000 euros this year, detailed West France. As a result, the elected officials decided to close all the pools one day a week.

Energy, the second item of operating expenditure

Energy represents the second item of expenditure in the management of municipal swimming pools. This is far behind staff costs, but it still represents more than 15% of the operating bill, according to an OFGL report published in 2021 and based on 2019 data from a sample of town halls.

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The share of energy in the budget even rises to nearly 18% for equipment managed by intermunicipal authorities, which are often larger and offer more calorie-intensive services, such as hammams or saunas.

Air, more expensive than water

It may seem counter-intuitive, but what is expensive to heat in a swimming pool is not the pools, but the surrounding air. According to the guide “Succeeding your public swimming pool”, published in 2021 by EDF and the National Association of Elected Officials in Charge of Sport, this item represents 60% of energy expenditure, compared to 30% for pool water and 10% for sanitary water used in showers and toilets. bathroom. Ventilation and air treatment also require energy. We understand better why, according to data from the OFGL, swimming pools cost less to municipalities when they are discovered.

An aging building

The construction of most French pools dates back to a time, the 1970s, when there was very little interest in energy performance. More than half (55%) of the equipment was commissioned before 1984, according to a report by the Court of Auditors on local finances published in 2018.

These cumulative characteristics mean that swimming pools consume on average more than 3,000 kilowatt hours per square meter of water body, according to Dalkia, the EDF subsidiary specializing in energy services. By way of comparison, it is enough for a dwelling to exceed 450 kilowatt hours per square meter to enter category G – the last – of the energy performance diagnosis for the residential stock, and be prohibited from renting from 2023.

Delay in energy optimization

When it comes to improving the energy performance of a swimming pool, the main strategies adopted are reuse and autonomy. The first consists in recovering the heat emitted by the operation of the equipment itself, and in particular that of the evacuated water. It is with this technique, in particular, that the City of Paris intends to reduce its water consumption by a third in seven facilities under renovation.

The second often consists in equipping the swimming pool with solar panels, which can provide part of the energy supply. EDF prides itself on having converted the swimming pool of Bassemberg, in the Bas-Rhin, to 100% renewable, through the installation of 200 square meters of photovoltaic panels.

Geothermal energy is also a possible alternative. This is the chosen solution for example for the Bonneval aquatic center (Eure-et-Loir)70% heated by the floor, and only 30% by gas.

Mistakes in accounting

Efficiency also requires careful understanding of the cost of this equipment, which town halls have long ignored. In 2018, the Court of Auditors deplored that the analysis of the operating costs of the basins managed directly by the communities is “very frequently insufficient”while in the case of public service delegations “the control of the execution of these contracts often remains superficial”.

As such, the 2021 statistical study carried out by the OFGL represents the rare data available. The temporary closure of some thirty facilities by Vert Marine at the end of the summer, even before the frosts add to inflation to increase energy bills, could lead elected officials to look at these accounts with a more searching eye.

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