Managers of public pools face a constant challenge: maintaining impeccable water quality while keeping operating costs under control. Between strict regulatory requirements, high attendance and ever-increasing maintenance costs, filtration represents a major challenge. But are there any solutions that eliminate the need for traditional consumables? The answer may well lie in self-cleaning filtration technologies.
The specific challenges of pool filtration
A demanding regulatory framework
Swimming pools open to the public are subject to much stricter constraints than private pools. Unlike private pools, regulations require continuous filtration 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Recirculation times must be adapted to the pool’s surface area and number of users, and daily water analyses are mandatory to ensure compliance with health standards.
This constant monitoring generates considerable operating costs, particularly in terms of consumables. Traditional sand filters require regular backwashing, cartridges have to be replaced frequently, and filter media quickly clog up under the effect of the high pollutant load.
Intensive and variable use
With up to 1 bather per m² in indoor pools, and up to 3 per m² outdoors, community pools are subject to intense organic pollution. This pollutant load is reflected in the constant input of particles, body residues, sun creams and other contaminants that place heavy demands on filtration systems.
The variability of this frequentation also poses a problem: a system designed for peak use often operates at over-rev during off-peak periods, wasting energy and water. On the other hand, it can prove insufficient during peak summer periods.
Rising operating costs
Traditional maintenance of filtration systems represents a significant budget item. Regular cartridge replacement, filter sand changes, cleaning products and water consumption for backwashing generate significant recurring costs.
Added to this are labor costs for preventive and curative maintenance, as well as the risk of malfunctions leading to temporary closure of the pool, with all the financial losses that this entails.
The limitations of traditional filtration systems
Sand filters: robust but greedy
Sand filters are still the reference technology in many collective systems. Robust and tried and tested, it nevertheless has major drawbacks in terms of water consumption and space requirements.
The backwashes required to maintain filtration efficiency consume between 2 and 5% of the total pool volume every day. For a 500 m³ pool, this represents up to 25 m³ of pure water discharged every day – or almost 9000 m³ per year.
The size of the installations is also a problem. Sand filters require large technical rooms, which are often difficult to fit into existing buildings or renovations.
Cartridge filters: practical but costly
Cartridge systems offer superior filtration finesse and a smaller footprint. However, the cost of consumables can quickly become prohibitive in high-flow installations.
A quality cartridge costs between 50 and 200 euros, depending on its size and filtration finesse. For a collective pool requiring weekly cartridge changes, the annual budget can exceed 10,000 euros, not counting the labor required for replacement.
Hectron innovation: towards consumables-free filtration
Self-cleaning sieve technology
Drawing on its 20 years’ experience in industrial filtration, Hectron has developed a revolutionary solution for public pools: the self-cleaning suction filter.
The principle is based on an ultra-fine stainless steel sieve that retains particles down to 2 microns: a finer filtration than traditional sand filters. The self-cleaning vacuum system automatically removes retained impurities, without interrupting the filtration process.
Remarkable performance
The figures speak for themselves: at the La Rumba campsite in the Var region of France, replacing a sand filter with a Hectron system reduced the installation area from 15 to 2 m² for a flow rate of 200 m³/hr. Even more impressive, water consumption at peak times was reduced from 10 to 1 m³/day: a saving of 90%.
This performance is due to the absence of backwashing. The self-cleaning system consumes only the water strictly necessary to remove impurities, i.e. less than 1% of the flow filtered, compared with 2 to 5% for a traditional sand filter.
Optimized sizing
The compactness of Hectron filters makes it possible to rethink the layout of technical rooms. The reduced footprint facilitates retrofit installations and frees up space for other equipment.
This compactness does not compromise performance: the 2-micron filtration fineness guarantees optimum water quality, helping to reduce the consumption of treatment chemicals.
Economic and environmental benefits
Elimination of consumables costs
The absence of consumables is the most obvious economic advantage. No cartridges to replace, no sand to change, no filter media to renew. The Hectron self-cleaning filter works exclusively with permanent stainless steel elements, a material that is unalterable and recyclable.
This elimination of consumables means a drastic reduction in maintenance operations. Technical teams can concentrate on other, higher value-added tasks.
Reduced environmental impact
In addition to spectacular water savings, Hectron technology helps to reduce the environmental footprint of community pools. Eliminating consumables eliminates the associated waste: used cartridges, packaging, transport of spare parts.
Energy consumption is also optimized thanks to the system’s low pressure drop and the absence of energy-intensive backwash cycles.
Rapid return on investment
Despite a higher acquisition cost than traditional systems, Hectron self-cleaning filters deliver a rapid return on investment. Water savings, the elimination of consumables and reduced maintenance costs generally pay for themselves in 2 to 4 years, depending on system configuration.
Towards a new approach to collective filtration
The experience acquired by Hectron in industry, where reliability and efficiency are crucial, is now being applied to the aquatic sector. Prestigious references such as Veolia, Engie, Suez and Saur testify to the maturity of this technology.
For managers of public pools, this innovation represents an opportunity to completely rethink their approach to filtration. Gone are the constraints of consumables, replaced by a sustainable, high-performance solution that reconciles water quality, savings and respect for the environment.
The question is no longer whether filtration without consumables is possible, but rather when this technology will become the norm in community pools. Faced with growing environmental challenges and the need to control operating costs, self-cleaning filters represent the future of aquatic filtration.
Manufactured in Nice, France, by a team of experts, these systems embody technological innovation at the service of sustainable, cost-effective management of community pools. A silent revolution that is already transforming the daily lives of many managers around the world.
