UK first in technology heating solutions
Councillor Nick Hookway, Jenny Kumah (BBC) and Peter Gilpin (LED Community Leisure) at Exmouth swimming pool

Deep Green, a British start-up has unveiled Exmouth Swimming Pool as one of the first sites for a technology that supplies free heat, which reduces energy bills and will cut the reliance on carbon-intensive fossil fuel boilers.

Exmouth Leisure Centre in Devon is the first site in the country to benefit from heat-recapture by cloud data centres. The surplus heat donated to the leisure centre by Deep Green’s unit will reduce the pool’s gas requirements by 62%, saving LED Community Leisure, who manage the centre on behalf of East Devon District Council (EDDC), over £30,000 a year and reduce carbon emissions by 25.8 tonnes.

Using the latest ‘immersion cooling’ technology, Deep Green captures heat from the operating data centre servers, transferring it into the site’s existing hot water system, for free. Around 96% of the heat generated by a Deep Green ‘digital boiler’ is recycled. The installation in Exmouth Leisure Centre contains 12 servers of the highest-grade computer equipment.

There are over 1,500 pools in England alone that could all benefit. Energy costs for leisure facilities have increased 150% since 2019 and an estimated 79% face closure. In response, the Government have today announced a £63million fund to support public swimming pools through Sport England. 

Peter Gilpin, CEO of LED Community Leisure (operator of Exmouth Leisure Centre on behalf of EDDC), commented: "Deep Green’s innovative technology will dramatically reduce our energy bills and carbon footprint, meaning we will continue to be a key asset for the local community. We are already seeing the benefit. I’m certain this will transform leisure centres up and down the country for the better."

Nick Hookway, EDDC’s Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, added: “The Council has provided over £1.3million in additional financial support to LED to keep our pools open throughout the pandemic which we hoped would have been refunded by the UK Government and with the more recent energy crisis, this Deep Green initiative is a great help. We are also working with LED on further energy-reducing measures and today’s announcement of Government support for decarbonisation of swimming pools is very welcome.”

Mark Bjornsgaard, CEO of Deep Green, said: "“By moving data centres from industrial warehouses into the hearts of communities, our ‘digital boilers’ put waste heat to good use, saving local businesses thousands of pounds on energy bills and reducing their carbon footprint. Pools are just the start.”

Jane Nickerson, CEO of Swim England, commented: "At a time when so many swimming pools are struggling with massively increased energy bills, it’s great to see pools embracing innovative solutions like this which have the potential to support facilities to operate more sustainably, both environmentally and economically.”