Current Florida Health Department regulations as described in Chapter 64E-9 require the following:
The 2020 National Electric Code (NEC) requires the following:
A Proposed Rule by the Energy Department on Sep. 11, 2018 states the following:
Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act and Florida Statutes Chapter 514 require the following:
These regulations and requirements demand a system that will provide an electrical interlock among the various components comprising the pool system.
The intelligence of the Electrical Interlock System for Swimming Pools (EIS) is the programmable microprocessor. The microprocessor is capable of monitoring various inputs and controlling the pool equipment based on the following: main pool pump motor amps, flow rate, vacuum pressure and ground faults. The microprocessor can be configured to accommodate any size pool pump motor, pool piping size and multiple pool pump motors.
The former way of simply monitoring voltage to the main pool pump is no longer effective due to the mandate for variable speed pumps. Therefore, a current transducer will monitor the main pool pump amperage in order to determine if it is online. The flow sensor and vacuum sensor will provide information to the microprocessor to determine if there is adequate flow rate or high vacuum pressure which in turn will shut down the chemical feeders and main pool pump as required. The EIS meets the requirements for the Health Department, NEC, Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act and Florida Statutes Chapter 514
The EIS also monitors the main pool pump and vacuum pump for ground faults via a residual current monitor sensor thereby providing GFCI protection required by NEC 2020. This GFCI protection is provided regardless of the pool pump motor manufacturer, size (HP) of the pool pump motor and manufacturer of the electrical gear supplying power to the pool pump motor. Procuring and installing a GFCI circuit breaker is no longer needed thereby simplifying maintenance and installations.
Automatic chemical feeder manufacturer installation instruction also requires the chemical feeders to be both interlocked to the flow rate and the main pool pump, and the NEC requires installers to follow the manufacturer installation instructions.
The EIS will also provide a safe and effective means to turn the system off and on for maintenance by providing on/off selector switches for the main pool pump and the vacuum pump. In most of the existing pool systems, the pool technician has to use the circuit breaker to turn the main pool pump on and off.
The EIS has WIFI connectivity providing the ability to send outbound information as well as allowing for remote monitoring. The EIS uses relays and contactors to turn equipment on and off based on the inputs from the environment as previously described. It will be in a self-contained enclosure rated for the environment where installed with terminal connections for the main pool pump, vacuum pump, chemical feeder, sensors and power input for the EIS. There will also be a HMI component that will allow users to see real time data comprising of motor amps, GPM, vacuum pressure, etc. Errors and system information can also be logged and stored for historical data and reporting. The various features and components described herein are depicted in
Number | Date | Country | |
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63200198 | Feb 2021 | US |