Swimming Pool Dehumidifiers in Dubai, UAE

An indoor pool is the most demanding humidity control problem in any building. The water evaporates continuously, the air above it is warm and close to saturation, and everything it touches, from the roof structure to the glazing to the light fittings, is being attacked by moisture and chlorine at the same time. Climatech supplies, installs and services dehumidifiers built for pool duty, from villa pools and spas to hotel and commercial pool halls across the UAE.

What happens without dehumidification

Air conditioning alone does not solve a pool hall. It cools the air and removes some moisture as a side effect, but it is controlling temperature, not humidity, and it stops when the thermostat is satisfied. The pool does not stop evaporating. The result is a space that is cold and wet at the same time, and the damage follows a predictable order.

Condensation forms first on the coldest surfaces: glazing, external walls, steel and the underside of the roof. Then staining, then paint failure, then corrosion of anything metal, including the structural fixings that hold the ceiling up. Mould establishes in corners and behind finishes. Chlorinated moisture is far more corrosive than plain humidity, which is why pool halls deteriorate faster than any other wet room in a building, and why repairs run to structural work rather than redecoration.

For the people using the pool, high humidity means a clammy, unpleasant space where the air feels heavy and the chlorine smell hangs. For the operator, it means an air conditioning system running hard and continuously to fight a problem it was never designed to solve.

How a pool dehumidifier is different

A pool dehumidifier is a refrigerant unit, the same principle as any other, but built for the environment. The coil and casing are coated or constructed in corrosion resistant materials because chlorinated air destroys standard aluminium fins within a couple of seasons. The unit is sized on evaporation rate rather than room volume. And in most fixed installations, the heat removed from the air as the moisture condenses is put back into the pool hall air or the pool water rather than thrown away, which recovers a large share of the energy the pool is losing to evaporation.

That last point matters more than it sounds. Heating an indoor pool is mostly a matter of replacing the heat lost through evaporation. A pool dehumidifier that recovers that heat and returns it is doing two jobs at once, and it is the reason a properly specified unit usually pays for itself in running costs rather than simply protecting the building.

Choosing the format

Portable pool dehumidifiers suit villa pools, spas, hydrotherapy rooms and small pool rooms where a ducted installation is more than the space justifies. They stand on the floor, connect to a drain, and run unattended. The RYCM-60C at 60 litres a day covers a small pool or spa, the RYCM-90C at 90 litres a day suits a medium villa pool, and the RYCM-138C at 138 litres a day handles a large residential pool or a small commercial spa. All three are in the product list at the top of this page.

Floor standing units are the workhorses for commercial pool halls. They sit in the hall or an adjacent plant space, move large volumes of air, and are sized in kilograms of water per hour rather than litres per day. The RYCF range runs from the RYCF-10S at 10 kilograms an hour up to the RYCF-40S at 40 kilograms an hour, which covers hotel pools, leisure centres and water parks.

Ceiling ducted units keep the plant out of sight above a false ceiling and distribute dry air through grilles, which is the usual specification for hotel and residential pool halls with a finished interior. The RYDZ range covers 168 to 960 litres a day, and the AMDZ-96C1 adds a fresh air supply, which pool halls need for air quality as well as humidity. See industrial and commercial dehumidifiers for the full floor standing and ducted range.

Sizing a pool dehumidifier

Room volume is the wrong starting point. Evaporation is what has to be removed, and evaporation depends on the water surface area, the water temperature, the air temperature, the humidity you are holding the hall at, and how much the pool is used. A busy pool with people in it and water being splashed evaporates far more than the same pool at rest, and a spa at 38 degrees evaporates far more per square metre than a lap pool at 28.

The air temperature target matters as well. Pool halls are normally held a degree or two above the water temperature, because warmer air holds more moisture and slows evaporation. A hall run too cold feels unpleasant and evaporates the pool faster, which is the opposite of what the air conditioning is trying to achieve.

As a rough guide, a 4 by 8 metre villa pool at normal temperatures needs somewhere in the region of 60 to 90 litres a day of capacity. A 25 metre commercial pool needs a floor standing or ducted installation sized properly against the surface area and usage. Our guide to calculating dehumidifier capacity walks through the method, or send us the pool dimensions and temperatures and we will size it.

Installation details that decide whether it works

Air distribution. The dry air has to reach the surfaces that condense, which in a pool hall means the glazing and the external walls. A unit blowing into the middle of the room while the windows stream is a distribution failure, and it is common. Ducted units with grilles along the glazing, or floor units positioned to sweep the cold surfaces, solve it.

Drainage. A pool dehumidifier produces a lot of water and it has to go to a drain, by gravity where possible. In the UAE condensate lines scale and grow slime, so an accessible cleaning point and a float switch that stops the unit if the drain blocks are both worth specifying.

Corrosion protection. Not only the dehumidifier. Ductwork, grilles, fixings and controls in a pool hall all need to be specified for chlorinated air, or they fail before the unit does.

Fresh air. A pool hall needs ventilation for air quality, and the incoming outdoor air in the UAE is itself warm and humid for much of the year. The dehumidifier should be sized to handle it, or a fresh air unit specified that dries the incoming air before it reaches the hall.

Pool covers. The cheapest dehumidification measure available. A cover on an unused pool cuts evaporation dramatically overnight and lets the unit and the air conditioning rest.

Servicing

Pool duty is the hardest environment a dehumidifier operates in, and servicing is what keeps it working. Filters block with dust, coils need inspecting for corrosion even when coated, drains and float switches need checking, and the refrigerant circuit and controls need verifying. On a pool installation we would recommend a service every six months rather than annually. Climatech services pool dehumidifiers, including units we did not originally supply where we are able to.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use an ordinary dehumidifier in a pool room?
Briefly, yes. Permanently, no. Chlorinated air corrodes a standard coil within a couple of seasons, and a unit sized on room volume rather than evaporation will be under capacity. Pool duty units cost more for a reason.

What humidity should a pool hall be held at?
Typically 50 to 60 percent relative humidity. Lower than that increases evaporation and heat loss without improving comfort. Higher risks condensation on any surface cooler than the air.

Does a dehumidifier heat the pool?
Units with heat recovery return the heat removed from the air to the hall or the pool water, which reduces the load on the pool heater. It does not replace the heater, but it recovers a meaningful share of what evaporation takes away.

How much does it cost to run?
Less than not running it. An indoor pool without dehumidification loses heat to evaporation continuously and makes the air conditioning work far harder. A properly sized unit with heat recovery typically reduces the combined running cost of the pool hall rather than adding to it.

Do you supply for villas as well as commercial pools?
Yes. The portable RYCM range is specifically for villa pools, spas and small pool rooms, and we install and service across the Emirates.

Talk to us about your pool

Call +971 54 574 2443 or email info@climatech.ae with the pool dimensions, whether it is covered when not in use, the water and air temperatures, and roughly how heavily it is used. Photographs of the hall, particularly the glazing and the ceiling, tell us most of what we need to know.

For the full range and other applications, see dehumidifiers.