Dubai school introduces 'green pools'

Children at a private school here said they love swimming pools, especially ‘green’ ones.

The Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS) at Arabian Ranches has turned its pool environment-friendly, by making the chillers more efficient and covering the surface after use.

Besides huge savings in energy bills, JESS expects the new steps to bring down carbon dioxide emissions by about 820kg a day. In one year, that would equal the amount of carbon dioxide released in the course of 45 return flights between Dubai and London, according to Farnek Avireal (FA), the company which installed the technology.

“When you jump into a ‘green’ pool, it feels nice to know that you’re enjoying something that is not so wasteful,” said Sophia Watfa a ninth-grade student.

“It’s very hot here, so people use more power to keep cool, which also produces harmful greenhouse gases,” added her peer, Lauren Moffitt.

The school also has an informal environmental patrol that tracks its power needs or recycling efforts. And not even Robert Stokoe, the JESS director, is out of reach. “They [students] check if I’ve turned off the lights when I step out of the office,” said Stokoe.

“They have also set up a wind and solar power station, and check the readings regularly to see how much energy we’ve stored up,” he said.

While that science project is more about raising awareness, the Energy Saving Modules (EMAs) on the chillers and the pool’s thermal blanket will slash the annual JESS power bill by around Dh300,000, estimates FA.

“It’s not about saving money, though. This is the right thing to do. People should not get used to the carefree lifestyle here,” said Stokoe.

That lifestyle costs every Dubai resident 20,000 kilowatt hours per year and 130 gallons of water daily - one of the highest rates in the world.

The healing process is simple, but needs everyone’s support, said a manager at FA.

“For example, it only takes five minutes to pull the cover over the pool, which would otherwise heat up again - and evaporate completely within one year,” said Neville Patterson.

Markus Oberlin, general manager of Avireal Middle East, an FA partner, said buildings fitted with EMAs use 30 per cent less electricity and can make their money back in a few months.