In the true sense of the word, it is a record-breaking project that Roman Schweighofer from Wiesenfeld in Lower Austria has realised in cooperation with Variotherm. And just like every grand idea that might sound a bit crazy, this one also starts with the famous words: “You’d never..?!”
A long breath for long lanes
Roman Schweighofer is an enthusiastic triathlete. The endurance sports involving swimming, cycling and running not only requires a great deal of stamina and strong lungs, but also the right training locations. While Roman can easily complete his running and cycling laps in and around Wiesenfeld, the search for long swimming lanes suitable for training was quite arduous. Faraway or overbooked swimming pools in which he had to share lanes with other swimmers prompted the 49-year-old to simply build a triathlon-ready pool himself.
Roman found support among his friends and training colleagues who bet him, sportsmen and fans of isotonic beverages as they are, a crate of beer on whether he could realise his project. Roman the triathlete proved to be quite persevering. For what was originally a training dilemma has since not only turned into the perfect swimming conditions for one’s own home, but possibly also an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Peak performance thanks to Variotherm
In Variotherm, Roman—who is a trained stove-fitter—had found the right partner to realise his idea. Two self-made tiled stoves heat a buffer tank to the left and right of Roman’s swimming pool. The unique feature being that the two tiled stoves are probably the longest ones in the world—and worthy of an entry in the famous Book of World Records. In conjunction with the Variotherm solutions, not only the floor of the swimming pool building and its walls are heated, but also the floor and walls of the 25 m long, 5 m wide and 1.4 m deep sports pool.
A grand total of 700 metres of VarioProFil-Rohr 16x2 were laid for this purpose, with 30 heating circuits that ensure absolute peak performance. While a heat pump including photovoltaics keeps the water at an optimal training temperature of 24°C maximum during the summer months, in winter Roman fires up his huge tiled stoves. The principle is similar to that of the bathhouses of the ancient Romans—only that here, everything is controlled with the most advanced technologies to be absolutely energy-efficient.
However, this energy is not only felt by the developer himself but also by his training partners and even a state champion who trains with him. By the way, these triathletes don’t have to shower after their training sessions, because the water in the sports pool doesn’t need any chlorine at all. Enriched with oxygen and phosphate, swimming feels like being in a lake. An entirely natural project—and possibly record-breaking.
