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DesertAire pool dehumidifiers
Swimming pool enclosures use a lot of energy to dehumidify, heat, and cool. Until fairly recently, standard practice was to use outside air to dehumidify the space. Though the outside air had to be heated or cooled, this was not a problem in the Pacific Northwest because energy was cheap. Times have changed, and with energy costs approaching $.10/KW and $1.50/therm, using outside air to dehumidify a pool room is expensive.

Code ventilation directly influences the indoor moisture load and the cost of dehumidification, heating, and cooling. Commercial pools must meet ASHRAE Standard 62, which requires .5 CFM of outside air per square foot of pool and deck. ("Deck" is the non-pool, non-spectator area of the enclosure.) A residential pool does not need to meet this code, although many homeowners require ventilation air in their pool rooms.

Generally, meeting ASHRAE Standard 62 provides one to 1.5 air changes per hour in the pool room. Using outside air to dehumidify the space requires 2.5 to four times the amount of outside air required by code. The extra outside air substantially increases the cost of heating and cooling the pool enclosure.

Here are four ways that are more cost-effective than straight outside air ventilation for dehumidifying a pool enclosure.
  • Use 100% ventilation air with a heat exchanger.
  • Use a DX dehumidifier.
  • Use a DX dehumidifier with an economizer.
  • Use a DX dehumidifier with a heat exchanger for the outside air.

See a sample energy analysis comparing these four methods, where the sample is for a 5000-square-foot pool in Portland with 5000 CFM of outside air and energy costs of $.10/KW and $1.20/therm.

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