Let’s be honest: in Zimbabwe, water and power are the real project managers. If your commercial pool looks amazing but bleeds water through evaporation, backwash, and leaks—or guzzles electricity—everyone feels it: owners, GMs, trustees, even guests.
This page is our guide to how Premium Pools designs and renovates pools that stay beautiful and affordable to run.
Quick wins (you can take to a meeting)
- Oversize the filtration, slow the flow: cleaner water, quieter plant rooms, longer equipment life.
- Variable-speed pumps (VSDs): right RPM at the right time = big kWh savings.
- Covers matter: they’re not glamorous, but they cut evaporation and heat loss dramatically.
- Backwash recovery: stop throwing treated water away—reuse it sensibly.
- Solar + heat pump: the most cost-sensible heating combo for our climate.
Everything below unpacks those ideas for hotels, schools, estates, and gyms.
Why efficiency isn’t optional here
Zimbabwe’s climate is generous with sun—and evaporation. Municipal supply can be patchy, boreholes need stewardship, and energy prices are… dynamic. The result?
The cheapest litre and kilowatt-hour is the one you don’t need. We design the hydraulics first and the “wow” factor second, so the pool stays easy on bills for years, not just the opening month.
Source water: municipal, borehole, rain—how we plan it
We’ll look at your primary source (municipal or borehole), then decide how rainwater harvesting fits. Pre-treatment, storage volumes, and changeover logic are planned at concept stage, not as an afterthought.
If you’re in Harare (Borrowdale/Highlands), we’ll think about seasonal borehole yield; in Victoria Falls or Kariba, we’ll factor humidity and prevailing winds that push evaporation.
Bottom line: storage and pre-treatment sized correctly means fewer “pool closed for topping up” days.
Hydraulics: where costs are won (or lost)
Bad plumbing makes even good equipment look bad. We size pipework to keep velocities low, reduce head loss, and avoid dead zones.
Skimmer and return placement is mapped against wind patterns. For big footprints, we’ll split systems into zones so you’re not over-circulating quiet corners.
- Oversized filters running at lower speed grab more fine particles and reduce backwash frequency.
- Right-sized suction fittings prevent entrapment and drop pump strain.
- Balanced returns mean fewer cloudy corners and less chemical overuse.
Pumps & filtration: quiet savings every hour
Think of the plant room like a gearbox: most pools don’t need full power all day. We program variable-speed pumps to cruise overnight and ramp up only at peak times.
Filters are sized to keep pressure and velocity gentle, which improves clarity and extends media life. For resorts and gyms, a modest secondary circulation for warm nights can keep water bright without waking the neighbours—or your electricity meter.
Chemistry & automation: stable water, fewer surprises
Clear water isn’t luck; it’s control. We like salt-chlorination or automated liquid dosing with ORP/pH controllers for commercial sites. Why?
- Fewer “spikes” that trigger emergency backwash.
- Gentler on skin, eyes, and linen (fewer complaints).
- Caretakers follow checklists, not guesswork.
We train your team on daily/weekly routines so water quality stays boring in the best possible way.
Covers: the unsexy hero of water saving
Covers are the single most under-used tool in Zimbabwe. Used after hours, they slash evaporation, hold heat, and keep dust/leaves out (less cleaning, fewer chemicals).
Options range from discreet automatic slatted covers on statement pools to manual thermal blankets for schools and estates. We’ll specify what suits your space and staff capacity.
Heating that makes financial sense
If you heat, heat smart. We design around a solar + heat pump hybrid: solar does the heavy lifting on sunny days; the heat pump maintains comfort when weather dips.
Our sizing focuses on the shoulder seasons (when occupancy still matters) rather than chasing 30 °C in winter and shocking your power bill. With covers, you’ll be surprised how stable temps feel.
Backwash recovery: stop throwing money down the drain
Every backwash cycle sends treated water away. We capture it in a settlement or filtration tank, then repurpose it for landscape irrigation or pre-filtered top-up. It’s simple engineering that pays back quickly, especially on busy properties or sites with water restrictions.
Leak prevention & finish choices
Water loss isn’t always dramatic—it’s often a combination of small leaks and thirsty finishes.
- Shell integrity: we pressure-test plumbing and specify expansion joints where movement is expected.
- Finishes: high-quality tile or premium marble plaster resists micro-leaks and chalking.
- Edges & decking: copings sealed correctly, expansion gaps respected, and drainage graded away from the pool.
Good detailing at build stage saves thousands over the life of the pool.
Shade, wind & landscape: sneaky ways to curb evaporation
Evaporation rockets with sun and wind. We’ll use pergolas, umbrellas, and planting to shade shallow water (lounging shelves, steps) and tuck the pool away from prevailing winds without blocking those money-shot views. Even a low windbreak or smart hedge placement can make a measurable difference.
Operations: design for the people who run it
Efficiency dies when systems are hard to use. We place the plant room where it’s dry, ventilated, and reachable without wheeling drums through a lobby.
Valves are labelled, test points are accessible, and consumables have storage. We leave you with one-page SOPs for daily/weekly tasks and seasonal checklists. If staff change, the pool doesn’t fall apart.
Renovations: turning expensive pools into efficient ones
If you already have a pool that looks great but drinks water and eats electricity, we can retrofit the right pieces:
- New VSD pumps and properly-sized filters.
- Automation for chlorine and pH control.
- Backwash recovery plumbing and storage.
- Covers that actually get used (with the right reels or housing).
- Targeted re-tiling/re-plastering and joint repairs to stop seepage.
- Solar + heat pump added with tidy plant-room layouts.
We’ll price changes as phases, so you can hit ROI milestones without closing for a season.
A quick scenario (numbers you can picture)
A 18 m estate pool in Harare runs one fixed-speed pump 18 hours/day, backwashes twice weekly, and has no cover. We refit with a VSD, oversize the filter, add a manual thermal cover, and plumb a 2,000 L recovery tank feeding irrigation.
Result: the pump spends most hours at low RPM, backwash drops to weekly (sometimes fortnightly), the water stays warmer, and top-ups fall sharply—lower bills and fewer “pool closed” notices. Trustees sleep better.
Design standards checklist (copy this into your specifications)
- Hydraulics first: low pipe velocities, balanced returns, and skimmers placed for local wind.
- Filtration: oversize the filter; plan for slower, longer, cleaner runs.
- Pumps: variable-speed, programmed for real usage (not guesswork).
- Water saving: after-hours covers + backwash recovery plumbing and storage.
- Heating: solar + heat pump sized to shoulder seasons; covers mandatory.
- Automation: ORP/pH control; clear, simple SOPs for staff.
- Plant room: dry, ventilated, labelled, and reachable without disrupting guests.
- Finish & detailing: leak-resistant materials, sealed copings, smart drainage.
- Landscape: shade shallow zones; add windbreaks without killing the view.
Tick those boxes and you’ll feel it in your monthly numbers.
FAQs
Do covers make sense for a showpiece infinity pool?
Yes—there are discreet options (slatted or hidden-pit) you deploy after hours. You keep the premium look by day and still pocket the savings.
Is salt water always better?
Not always—but for commercial/communal pools, salt with automation is a great balance: stable water, softer feel, and fewer chemical swings.
Can we retrofit recovery and covers on an older pool?
Almost always. We’ll map plumbing routes, find storage volume (often under-used corners), and choose a cover system your team can actually operate.
How fast do these upgrades pay back?
Depends on size and usage, but VSDs, covers, and filtration upgrades are typically the quickest wins. We’ll model OPEX before and after so you can make a clean case.
Let’s make “efficient” your competitive edge
Guests see sparkling water and sunset photos. You see a plant room that runs quietly and bills that behave. If that’s the brief, we’d love to help.
Contact Premium Pools to design a water- and energy-efficient commercial pool—or to retrofit savings into the pool you already have.
Also see: Hotel, Lodge & Safari Resort Pools, Apartment/Estate Pools, and School Pools for sector-specific guidance.
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