Historic Richmond Plunge Opens as a Solar-powered Pool
The Richmond Plunge, a swimming pool first built in 1926 for area residents near Pt. Richmond, Calif., has undergone a 10-year, complete facelift and will be dedicated today, according to a release from Sun Light & Power, a design/build solar firm based in Berkeley, Calif.
Todd Jersey Architecture developed and implemented the renovation plan to transform this community icon into a green poll. The facility uses solar energy to heat 324,000 gallons of non-chlorinated saline water. The heat is provided through 80 Heliodyne Gobi 410 collectors in an Active Closed Loop pool heating system with Delta T Pro. The technology also includes an Amtrol expansion tank.
There are 3,500 square feet of solar hot water panels for the pool's 324,000 gallons of water, 30 kilowatts of solar panels for electricity, 300 operable windows, a hyper-efficient boiler and sophisticated pool pumps. This saline pool uses an ultraviolet disinfectant system.
The $7.5 million pool was paid for through city redevelopment money, funds from a regional voter measure, individual grants and also the donations, according to Ellen Strauss, president of the Save the Richmond Plunge Trust. The trust raised $500,000 by selling memorabilia and holding a classic car show.
Todd Jersey Architecture was hired to rehabilitate and renovate the historic Richmond Municipal Natatorium-"the Plunge"-in Point Richmond, California. Constructed in 1925, The Plunge is the oldest and largest indoor pool in the San Francisco Bay Area. Once a popular spot for year-round swimming and aquatic therapy, it had been closed since August 2001 because of seismic hazards.