Heat pump and pool cover standards published

The new Australian Standards AS5348 Pool Covers and AS5352 Swimming Pool Heat Pump Systems have now been published and are available to the industry.

The standards were developed due to concerns that pool covers and heat pumps have historically lacked manufacturing rigour and made unverifiable claims of performance.

Swimming Pool and Spa Advisory Groups, set up by SPASA Australia in 2020, identified a significant need for pool cover and heat pump benchmarks to be established whereby consumers could rely on claims being made in the marketplace. Work commenced on the draft Australian Standards in 2020 with public consultation being undertaken in mid-2022 before the standard was finalised and published.

AS5348 Pool Covers

The objective of this new pool cover standard is to provide a series of benchmarks and tests for pool covers to meet performance requirements that will lead to the reduction of costs associated with evaporation and the heating of pools and spas.

Lindsay McGrath, SPASA CEO, says the new Australian Standard for Pool Covers was developed to protect industry and consumers from sub-standard products that may not be able to withstand the harsh Australian climate, as well as the ever-changing pool chemical environment to which pool covers are regularly exposed.

“SPASA is proud of its involvement on Australian Standard AS5348 Pool Covers, which was based on the Climate Care Certified pool cover certification criteria,” he says.

Derek Prince from Daisy Pool Covers says that after almost three years of comprehensive development, the new Australian Standard has been published to protect the nation’s swimming pools and spas, the pool cover industry and Australian consumers.

“In doing so, Australia has once again been the world leader in the swimming pool industry, being the first country to develop a minimum standard for pool covers,” says Prince.

“To achieve this important milestone, industry came together as part of the SPASA Pool Cover Advisory Group that encompassed PASCAA (Pool and Spa Cover Alliance Australasia) alongside other leading manufacturers of pool covers.”

AS5352 Swimming Pool Heat Pump Systems

The objective of this new swimming pool heat pump standard is to specify the procedures for determining the heating and cooling capacity, coefficient of performance, installation and sizing of swimming pool heat pump systems.

“The new Australian Standard for swimming pool heat pump systems was developed to promote uniform industry performance requirements and empower consumers to make informed choices,” says McGrath.

Adam Shelley from Waterco says the new standard for swimming pool heat pump systems provides the much-needed technical reference for suppliers of pool heat pumps into the Australian marketplace.

David Daft of Fluidra says the publication of AS5352 ensures the consumers can now purchase swimming pool heat pumps that are tested to the one standard.

“Equally important are that heat pump comparisons can now be made on a like-for-like basis,” he says. “So marketing of these products will need to be conscious of stated performance figures that can now be checked against AS5352.”