Dear Planning Commission (and including Planning staff via the CCIN, as it may relate to potential resources shared here on this topic);
Thank you very much for denying the waiver on noise with respect to the community pool equipment in Belle Haven. Belle Haven residents should be protected from noise pollution and shouldn’t have to choose between noise pollution and clean air anyways, in this context.
Belle Haven residents should be able to receive both healthy pool equipment that doesn’t spew NOx into the air *and* is quiet enough so that those residents can also sleep well at night. I believe that we can and should do both to do right by our community.
Below are some thoughts consolidated from my colleagues that I deemed relevant to share in this context:
* Could more sound dampening be added to the top of the selected heat pump units to achieve the night time 50 decibel limit (given that the staff report notes the most noise from the top of the units and this may be the least space-constrained area)? It seems like more could be done to reduce the noise levels.
* If there’s absolutely no way to mitigate the noise, could the quieter units by the same manufacturer be re-evaluated, with the understanding that 5 times as many units would be required but they could potentially be stacked or arranged in rows alongside the PG&E substation.
* If the smaller, quieter units are truly infeasible, could we work with the manufacturer to obtain larger units that would comply with the noise limit, given that the same manufacturer of the units selected for the project, AquaCal, also produces quiet units.
Hopefully the consulting team can prioritize a design that fits within the noise limits and utilizes zero emission technology. More resources below on available options.
Sincerely,
Angela Evans
MP Resident
Also EQC Commissioner but writing here as private resident
More info on heat pumps for pool heating:
There are quiet and clean electric heat pumps on the market. This commercial guide to electric products from Redwood Energy covers pool equipment:
https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/62b110a14473cb7777a50d28/6377e7c7fd6f8cc30f88afa7_Redwood%20Energy-s%20Pocket%20Guide%20to%20All-Electric%20Commercial%20Retrofits.pdf
The pool section starts on p.35 with case studies, and equipment is listed on page 111. There are 4 examples of large pool heat pumps that are marked as “inverter driven” – this means they’ll be quiet. Inverter driven technology provides a gentle start and much quieter operation.
My colleagues noticed that the staff report says they explored alternate models – presumably the very quiet ones – but opted not to use them because they would need many more of them. It’s true that the quietest models are 1/5 the capacity of the AquaCal “Big Bopper” unit they selected. But if they can’t work with the manufacturer to get a large version that is quiet, perhaps they could stack the smaller units to keep the noise down at night (they seem to already meet the daytime noise limit).
I would love for the city to commit to using quiet and clean inverter-driven heat pumps at both the BH Community Center (new construction) and the pool at Burgess (retrofit).
Lastly, the City staff can utilize free technical and design assistance on electric heat pumps from Peninsula Clean Energy here: https://allelectricdesign.org Please note that, while this site does contain resources for pool heat pumps specifically, that guidebook is aimed a residential sized pools and therefore less relevant here. What is relevant is the direct technical assistance available through a team of experts on retainer with PCE (through the website, using the assistance request form).
