Ice Bath Chillers
Ideal for ice bath & plunge pool applications in health spas, fitness clubs, leisure centres, football clubs and other sports training facilities.
Cold water immersion therapy has surged in popularity in recent years, and Aqua have been busy supporting clients across the UK with innovative chiller solutions for ice bath, plunge pool – and even ice cave! – applications.
Cold water exposure is championed by Dutch extreme athlete, Wim Hof. Wim, who starred in the BBC reality series “Freeze the Fear” and is often referred to simply as ‘The Iceman’, is an advocate of the health and wellbeing benefits of the cold on the human body.
Breathing, exposure to cold and commitment are the three pillars of the “Wim Hof Method”. The practice is designed to keep us in our optimal natural state, more in line with our predecessors who had much more active lifestyles without the luxury of warmth, plentiful food, and technology.
Exposure to cold water is said to be beneficial for our mental health & wellbeing as well as helping with physical recovery and endurance. It’s reported to have a positive impact on stress, energy levels, alertness, pain, metabolism, regulating the nervous system and enhancing the immune system. With studies showing that it can increase dopamine production – often called the feel-good hormone – by 250%, it’s easy to see why it appeals!
There’s lots of different ways of embracing cold water therapy, from taking a cold shower and wild swimming, to ice baths and plunge pools. The latter are being adopted more and more by health spas, fitness clubs, leisure centres, football clubs and other sports training facilities. We’ve even been asked to cool an ice cave for a luxury spa brand!
Whilst at home you might create a DIY style ice bath or plunge pool, for the more commercial applications, a process chiller is used to regulate and maintain water temperature. The chiller keeps the water at a consistent and controlled temperature, which enhances the effectiveness and overall experience of the cold-water treatment.
Ice baths and plunge pools tend to operate around 10°C but without a chiller it’s challenging to get the right temperature for a consistent period. A chiller has a refrigeration system which isn’t affected by external conditions, so it’s much more efficient. You can easily control the water temperature, so you don’t run the risk of it being too low and causing cold water shock and/or hypothermia. Another benefit is the option of adding a filtration system which will keep the water clean and contaminant free, which is key in a public or shared facility. A chiller also enables providers to offer a tailored experience, with the water temperature easily tweaked depending on the participant’s comfort levels and training goals.
Aqua’s range of Aqua Pro chillers are perfectly suited to ice bath and plunge pool applications. They are highly efficient and operate (from 30kW models upwards) on R454B which is a refrigerant with a very low Global Warming Potential (GWP) rating. Units are available from UK stock and, if supplied with a maintenance agreement, are covered by our extended three-year warranty.
If you’re considering a plunge pool or ice bath installation for your facility and would like support with the temperature control side of things, take the plunge and chat with the team a call on 0333 004 4433.
