Water slide insulation: calculate your energy savings
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Buitink TechnologyInsulation for your outdoor water slide: save 10,000 to 25,000 m³ of gas a year
The slide tube of a leisure pool often runs tens of metres outside the building, with a wall of only a few millimetres of polyester. Day and night, heat escapes through it. The Buitink insulation system is retrofitted around the existing tube while the pool simply stays open.
±95 % less heat loss through the tube · payback time 3 to 6 years · 10-year warranty · subsidies possible in many countries
Photos: drone footage during installation
Why an outdoor slide costs so much energy
A slide tube is a chimney. The water of 30 °C or more flowing through the tube warms the air inside it; that warm air rises and continuously draws in fresh warm pool-hall air at the bottom. Through the thin polyester wall of a few millimetres (U-value around 6 W/m²K) that heat escapes straight to the outside. This goes on as long as the tube is open, so at night and out of season too.
The cooled water and the cold air flow into the pool at the bottom, which also reduces comfort for visitors and staff.
How the Buitink insulation system works
- For each tube segment (flange to flange) a set of an upper and a lower jacket: 10 cm of flame-retardant polyester wool between a UV-resistant outer skin (Serge Ferrari Précontraint 502) and an inner fabric.
- Fixed with plastic hooks, eyelets and chlorine-resistant lacing cord, without drilling into or gluing onto the tube. The system can be removed again segment by segment.
- Insulated inspection flaps over every flange joint: the flange bolts remain accessible for the annual inspection.
- Insulating collars at the wall penetrations and cut-outs around supports and add-on parts.
- Installation by our own fitting team from an aerial work platform or scaffold. The pool stays open.
Photos: fitting the insulation shell on the slide
Thermal camera images
A few days after installing the Buitink slide insulation we recorded the effect with a thermal imaging camera. The result can be seen in the four photos below.
During the measurements with the FLIR thermal imaging camera the outdoor temperature was about 8.5 °C. The temperature of the air and water in the slide tube was about 25 °C. An uninsulated tube radiates a wall temperature of 20 to 25 °C over its entire length.
Insulation value and worked examples
| Situation | U-value | R-value |
|---|---|---|
| Uninsulated polyester slide tube | 6.0 W/m²K | 0.17 m²K/W |
| Buitink insulation 10 cm | 0.31 W/m²K | 3.2 m²K/W |
With 10 cm of insulation the heat loss through the tube falls by more than 95 %. The R-value is well above the 2.50 m²K/W required on the Dutch EIA energy list 2026 (code 210408).
Hours outside opening time count too. At most pools the slide is open for less than a third of the year, but the tube loses heat 24 hours a day. That is why our model also includes the hours out of use. If you already have a slide closure, you enter that and the model only counts the opening hours.
| Worked example | 40 m, 2,000 hours open per year | 60 m, 2,500 hours open per year | 80 m, 3,000 hours open per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas saving per year | 11,300 m³ | 17,300 m³ | 23,500 m³ |
| At € 1.25 per m³ | € 14,200 | € 21,700 | € 29,400 |
| At € 1.45 per m³ (Dutch price level autumn 2026, < 170,000 m³) | € 16,400 | € 25,100 | € 34,100 |
| CO₂ reduction per year | 20 tonnes | 31 tonnes | 42 tonnes |
| Indicative investment (incl. installation, excl. printing) | € 73,000 | € 102,000 | € 131,000 |
| Payback time at € 1.25 / € 1.45 | 5.2 / 4.4 yrs | 4.7 / 4.1 yrs | 4.5 / 3.8 yrs |
Tube diameter 1.2 m, 10 cm insulation, no closure, water and air in the tube 30 °C, average outdoor temperature 10.5 °C. Gas prices of € 1.25 and € 1.45 per m³ reflect the Dutch price level; adjust them to your own contract. Indicative; see the notes under the savings scan.
Validated by ABT
The heat loss model behind the savings scan and our quotations was drawn up and validated by the independent Dutch engineering firm ABT (Velp, the Netherlands): an hourly annual calculation with NEN 5060 weather data, the stack effect in the tube and the heat transfer between water, air and wall. On request ABT also checks your slide structure for the higher wind load caused by the larger diameter; at De Grote Koppel in Arnhem ABT carried out that structural check.
Reference: De Grote Koppel, Arnhem (the Netherlands)
In 2024 we insulated the 45 metre outdoor slide of the De Grote Koppel swimming pool for Sportbedrijf Arnhem: the first fully insulated outdoor water slide in the Netherlands. The 23 segments were printed in full colour in the pool's theme, turning the slide into an eye-catcher from the outside instead of a weathered tube.
The calculated saving according to the ABT model: from 487 GJ to 28 GJ of heat loss per year, about 15,000 m³ of gas. Beforehand, ABT also checked the slide structure for the slightly higher wind load caused by the larger diameter; it passed with a wide margin.
Would you like to see the system for yourself? We will gladly arrange a visit.
Colours and printing
The outer skin is available in the full colour range of Serge Ferrari Précontraint 502, to match your corporate identity or the colour of the tube. At extra cost we print the insulation in full colour: with your pool's theme, a mascot, sponsor messages or the message that your pool saves energy. An outdoor slide is highly visible from outside; the insulation turns it into an eye-catcher.
Subsidies and tax incentives
In many countries, energy-saving measures at public and commercial swimming pools qualify for a subsidy, a tax allowance or low-cost financing. Examples are the Netherlands (EIA energy investment allowance, code 210408, and DUMAVA for public buildings), Belgium (UREBA in Wallonia), Germany (BEG EM via BAFA) and France (CEE energy-saving certificates, Fonds vert). Read more: EIA (Netherlands, RVO) · DUMAVA (Netherlands, RVO) · UREBA (Wallonia) · BEG EM (Germany, BAFA).
In the savings scan above you can include a subsidy percentage; you then see the payback time after subsidy straight away. We supply the supporting documents for your application: the savings calculation, the R-value and the product specification.
Disclaimer on subsidies and savings. All savings, payback times and subsidy or allowance percentages mentioned are indicative and may change. Whether your organisation qualifies for a scheme and meets its conditions (such as tax status, timely notification, minimum amounts and application before ordering) is your own responsibility and must be verified with the relevant authority, your accountant or your subsidy adviser. No rights can be derived from this information and Buitink Technology accepts no liability in this respect.
Benefits at a glance
- Can be retrofitted to any existing slide tube, regardless of manufacturer, diameter or shape.
- Up to 95 % less heat loss through the tube; payback time usually 3 to 6 years.
- All flange bolts remain accessible for inspection; segments can be removed and refitted.
- 10-year warranty on the insulation package, 10-year colour warranty on printing.
- Flame-retardant materials (B-s2,d0 according to EN 13501), chlorine-resistant, plastic fixings.
- The pool stays open during installation; installation by our own team.
- Protects the polyester tube against further ageing by UV and weather.
- Subsidies possible in many countries; we supply the documentation for your application.
- More comfort indoors: less cold air and cold water from the slide run-out.
- Developed and made in Duiven, the Netherlands, a specialist in technical textiles since 1948.
From scan to insulated slide
- Savings scan (10 seconds): enter the length, diameter, opening hours and gas price above and receive an indication straight away.
- Tailored calculation (1 to 2 weeks): we calculate your slide with the ABT model on the basis of your opening hours, temperatures, gas price and drawings. If desired we measure on site with a thermal imaging camera and air velocity meter. Free of charge.
- Quotation (1 week): fixed price including measuring, engineering, production and installation, with the savings indication and payback time for your budget request or subsidy file.
- Measuring and production (10 to 14 weeks): measured segment by segment and produced in Duiven; structural check by ABT if desired.
- Installation (about 1 week): our fitting team installs the jackets, preferably in the low season. The pool stays open.
Photos: installation of the insulation shell on the slide
Frequently asked questions
Does the system fit every type of slide?
Yes. We make the jackets to measure per segment, for round and oval tubes, straight sections, bends and helixes, from any manufacturer. Special add-on parts, light boxes or sensors are accommodated.
What about the annual inspection of the flange bolts?
Above every flange there is an insulated inspection flap that is opened with hook-and-loop fastener and cord. The bolts always remain accessible; your own technical staff can do this without us.
What about daylight and lighting in the tube?
An insulated tube is dark; we recommend including LED lighting in the tube, as on almost every modern slide. We allow for this in the jackets and work together with your slide supplier.
Can the structure take the extra weight and wind?
The package weighs about 3 kg/m². The larger diameter gives 15 to 20 % more wind load. On request, engineering firm ABT checks your existing structural calculation; at De Grote Koppel the structure passed with a wide margin.
How accurate is the savings scan?
The scan is a simplification of the ABT model and, for the projects we have calculated, deviates from it by less than 10 %. For your quotation we calculate your situation exactly with hourly weather data and your own opening hours.
What are the service life and the warranty?
We give a 10-year warranty (declining linearly) on the insulation package and a 10-year colour warranty on printing. The materials are the same as in our tensile structures and tent roofs that stand outdoors for decades.
Can we also opt for a slide closure only?
Yes. An inflatable slide closure seals the tube outside opening hours and often pays for itself within a season. Insulation plus closure gives the highest saving; the scan calculates both situations.
Does the pool stay open during installation?
Yes. We work from the outside with aerial work platforms and fall protection; the slide itself is only out of use on the installation days.
Request a tailored calculation
Send us the details of your slide (length outside, diameter, opening hours, temperatures, flow rate and your gas price) with photos of the outside and, if available, a drawing. Or let us visit you with the thermal imaging camera. Free of charge and without obligation: e-mail with checklist to [email protected] or call +31 (0)316 25 08 30.
Questions?
Do you have questions or want more information? Please feel free to contact us. Call us at +31 (0)316-250830. But even easier: fill out the contact form below directly. We will contact you as soon as possible!
