We’ve talked about wave-making and customization, and we’ve talked about our sustainability for both business models and the environment. Now, we’re diving into wave pool energy efficiency and offering a glimpse into the operating flexibility and power consumption savings that flexible operating capabilities provides surf parks.

The Great Wave Pool Energy Debate

The energy debate in our industry is quite lively and puts into question a surf pool’s efficiency at full power. But, what if a surf lagoon could operate beyond ON/OFF and could tailor its wave-making precisely to surfer capacity? With developments we’ve made in wave pool flexibility, we’re here to point out that many claims are based on impractical scenarios for everyday usage. Remember the Volkswagen emission scandal back in 2015? Telling everyone your car is the most fuel efficient at 100 miles per hour isn’t all that helpful if the majority of your driving is done in urban areas. There are some lessons we can learn from the auto industry here, as the same principles also apply to surf pools when not all waves are created equal.

Much like the fuel efficiency of a car, efficiency isn’t being measured on realistic day-to-day driving scenarios like stop and go city driving, but rather super optimal, traffic free highway conditions. The flexibility that’s built into our pneumatic system at Endless Surf means that our technology is attuned to the everyday operations of your venue, so that you can optimize energy consumption in any scenario.

Operational Flexibility is the Future of Surf Parks

As artificial waves of the same size consume roughly the same amount of energy across all technologies (depending on the measurement), a key differentiator comes down to flexibility. In a nutshell, flexibility allows operators to tailor their wave production to capacity, as well as skill-level and preference. To illustrate, ES pools don’t only operate at full “sprint”. Rather, they can walk, jog, and run as well.

With easy to navigate back-end software, Swell Studio, the production of waves within the pool has never been more customizable (more on wave customization here). For the wave itself, operators can customize different wave types within the same session, like a barrel followed by an air section, or a combination of the two. In addition, what’s beneficial for a surf park’s bottom line, is the ability to tailor wave production to capacity.

Unlike other surf pools in operation today, Endless Surf will offer more than just ON and OFF operating configurations. This means that energy consumption doesn’t have to be at 100% during every session. This ensures savings on energy consumption across the board and makes sure venues don’t have to waste unnecessary energy on unnecessary waves.

Wave Pool Energy Customization

Endless Surf is more similar to a pay-per-use model, meaning that operations can be attuned to deliver the exact number of waves that customers have paid for, no more and no less. Unlike other pools, where all electrical units are needed to produce each wave regardless of occupancy, Endless Surf’s pneumatic chambers can be programmed to benefit nearly any situation.

Traditional mechanical systems operate at a set wave frequency, meaning they have to produce a certain number of waves regardless of who shows up to surf those waves. With the flexibility of Endless Surf, margins can become more controlled, as operators only need to produce waves for those who pay for them.

Fixed operations are great for a summer weekend, but how about a Tuesday in the middle of winter?

Here are three readily programmable settings within an ES pool.

Half Power: When capacity is lower, your bottom line doesn’t have to suffer. Endless Surf can flexibly operate with only half the pool in use, ultimately, saving energy and money without affecting the guest experience.

Single Peak: The flexibility to run the pool in single mode offers an unbeatable surf experience with the perfect wave offering up to a 30-second ride. This means you can rent your venue out privately and/or host competitions.

Split Peak: Not all waves are created equal, as different waves consume different amounts of energy. With the ability to program different waves, like an advanced and intermediate wave at the same time, Endless Surf offers lower net power consumption.

Introducing Wave Interval Management

So far in our emerging industry, 8-second wave intervals have been the norm. However, we’re challenging this idea, as our observations from surfing these waves ourselves and witnessing others surf these waves, have shown us that 8-second intervals between waves is chaotic and unnatural (listen to our podcast on wave intervals here). Current surf park operations are showing us that not only does wave quality suffer, but many waves go wasted because of missed take-offs. Endless Surf is also flexible when it comes to wave intervals, and for safer conditions and an overall better surf experience, we’re suggesting 12-second intervals. Plus, 12 seconds offers a power reduction of 20%, due to a lowered peak power requirement of sets of lower frequencies., having a significant impact on minimizing costs due to high electricity rates for some regions.

No Wasted Waves – Optimizing Wave Pool Energy

At the end of the day, on top of providing the best possible experience outside of the ocean for surfers, our goal is to provide surf venues with a wave that optimizes their operations for a viable and sustainable business. This means we’re focused heavily on both wave quality and operational efficiency when it comes to a wave pool’s energy, because surf parks need to optimize both to be successful. With innovations in flexible operating modes, wave interval management, and the ability to customize waves, we’re confident that the Endless Surf experience is elevated while the operating costs are quite the opposite. Flexibility is the future of surf parks and it all starts here…

Editor’s Note: This article originally appears on the Endless Surf website and is re-posted here in partnership with WavePoolMag.

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