December 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 59

amount of expected savings. If this
amount complies with the program
requirements, it will likely be approved. Typically, the application
must be approved before installing
the equipment, and the grant is
paid only after proof of installation
is provided.

Can Multiple Grants Be
Used on One Project?

tal treatment to lower its chloramine levels and was able to reduce
its supply air by 17 percent. This
improvement alone brought the facility's annual natural gas bill down
by $14,000, and its local utility provider granted the facility $17,000 to
cover the costs associated with adding the equipment.
While both AOP systems and
MPUV systems reduce chloramines to improve air quality, the
results are not equal. A case study
of two similar recreational facilities
in the Los Angeles area, one with
an AOP system and the other with
MPUV, showed that the AOP system reduced chloramines by 55 percent more than the MPUV system.
Most indoor pools add more outside air than the required levels in
the ASHRAE Standard 62.1 international building code for acceptable indoor air quality ventilation.
In addition, heating and cooling
this outside air can be expensive
and requires a significant amount
of energy consumption.
By using an AOP system to control chloramine levels and maintain
healthy indoor air quality, facilities
can reduce the amount of outside
fresh air required, bringing it closer
to ASHRAE Standard levels. Even

a small reduction in fresh make-up
air can result in significant energy
savings and grant money opportunities.

How to Take Advantage of
Incentive Programs
The first step an aquatic facility can
take to receive grant money is to
search online or call its utility company to determine if such a custom
incentive program is available.
For information about grants that
incentivize facilities for switching
from MPUV to AOP systems, simply contact your electrical provider and let the company know you
want to upgrade from MPUV to a
more energy-efficient AOP system.
The provider will be able to guide
you through the grant proposal process.
For a grant based on improved
air quality, measure the volume of
fresh air supplied to your facility.
This can be done with a simple test
by an HVAC company. If the volume of air is more than ASHRAE
Standard requirements, apply for
the relevant grant online. You will
need to provide the desired room
temperature of the facility, as well
as the target volume of air supply
reduction in order to determine the

There are various incentive programs available, and it might be
possible to get multiple grants for
the same project. In the case of the
Iowa facility mentioned earlier, the
entire project was funded through
multiple grants.
Make sure to be thorough in researching all potential grant opportunities and apply for as many as
possible that will fit with your project. After checking your facility's
qualifications with your electrical
and natural gas providers, use the
key search term " custom energy
incentive " on sites, like energy.gov,
which have nearly 378 custom programs.
By upgrading to AOP sanitation
technology, you can greatly improve
your facility's air and water quality,
while significantly reducing energy
costs and consumption. The best
part is that when you make the most
of the available programs offered
by your local utility company, you
may not even need to invest a dime
of your own budget into the project
and the ongoing energy savings is
like adding money to your budget.
Detailed references for this article are
available at www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2019/December/using-grant-funding-for-your-aquatics-facilitys-AOP-sanitation.
Tom Schaefer is the Technical Sales Director
for Clear Comfort (tom@clearcomfort.com).

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December 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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