How do I calculate the emissions of heating a hotel swimming pool?
Count the fuel or electricity used to heat the pool: LPG or diesel for a boiler at their default factors, or the heat pump's electricity at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh. Add the filtration pump. A pool cover cuts evaporation, which is where most of the heat is lost.
What uses energy
- The heater: LPG, diesel or gas boiler, heat pump, or solar.
- Filtration and circulation pumps, which run for long hours.
- Lighting and dehumidifiers for indoor pools.
Measure it
A sub-meter on the heat pump or the boiler's fuel log is far better than a share of the hotel bill. Without one, estimate from rated power and run hours and label it an estimate.
Reporting
Boiler fuel is Scope 1 and heat pump electricity Scope 2, both inside the hotel's total. Pool heating is a useful sub-figure when comparing a boiler with a heat pump.
Worked example: boiler or heat pump for the same pool (one month, illustrative inputs)
- LPG boiler: 900 kg x 2.98 = 2,682 kg CO2
- Heat pump: 3,600 kWh x 0.710 = 2,556 kg CO2
- Difference: 126 kg CO2 a month
Fuel and electricity use are illustrative; a heat pump's actual use depends on climate and cover use.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads electricity bills (CEA grid factor 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, CO2 Baseline Database version 21.0) and diesel, LPG and gas invoices (IPCC 2006 defaults) into a dated, fingerprinted Scope 1 and 2 record for each site. Intensity per unit uses the activity count you enter, and estimates are labelled as estimates.
Sources: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel defaults), CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 21.0
Last reviewed 2026-10-21.