Pools About Us

History

Swimming pools gobble up energy - whether indoors or out. Keeping even a small pool at a temperature comfortable enough to prevent a grimace when dipping in a toe is an expensive business.

Thermapool was conceived in 1997 after company founder and former builder Nigel Rose questioned why if lofts, walls, floors and basements had to be insulated why didn't a swimming pool structure. Having questioned many senior swimming pool experts on why they didn't want to insulate swimming pools, Nigel was not content with there answers and saw a huge market opportunity to save this wasted energy.

After a great deal of research Nigel came up with a durable insulation panelling system specifically designed to clad the sides and bottom of a swimming pool - whether it is above or in the ground - which prevents an incredible 86% of heat loss (the heat that is still lost is unavoidably the result of evaporation and radiation from the water surface).

Nigel patented his technological system as Thermapool - today the insulation of choice for pool constructors internationally.

Not content with just saving money for pool-owners, Nigel wanted to help Britain reduce its carbon footprint. In 2003 he began lobbying the Government to enforce minimum insulation standards under building regulations for swimming pools. Initially it felt as though he was hitting his head against a brick wall, but relentlessly he pursued in his quest - commissioning the Blinding Research Establishment in 2004 to carry out a report on swimming pool heat losses and to look at the difference in not having no insulation, placing the insulation on the outside of the swimming pool shell and on the inside of the swimming pool shell.  Amazingly it proved that on the inside the saving is 86% and on the out side it was only 41%. In 2006 he commissioned Kingston University to carry out a study of the market size for the swimming pool industry, showing the concurrent saving of carbon emissions which could be effected by insulating pools.

The results of this study were astonishing! The efficient insulation of the nation's swimming pools would bring about 35% extra saving of carbon emissions over and above the other "green" changes the Government was instituting for building regulations.

Finally, in 2010 Nigel's efforts paid off in a new regulation requiring the insulation of all new indoor swimming pools to a standard similar to that required for house wall construction. Outdoor pools are to be included in the regulation in 2013.

Nigel's innovative swimming pool insulation system has now been recognised by Ofgem as being the only accredited method of insulating swimming pools under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) 2008-2011. The Carbon Trust also accredited his swimming pool insulation system for loans for commercial swimming pools operators to assist in financing the cost of the installation Thermapool.