We talk about the new On-site Brine Electro Chlorination Generator that disinfects one of Europe’s largest pool with Granada Luxury - Technical Manager Murat PINAR. Capturing “luxury” in pool water quality with the system that produces Chlorine via fresh water and salt, Granada Luxury told us the details of this new experience that is offered to its guests
Produces sodium hypochlorite on-site using only salt, water and electricity. Removed the operational load of purchasing chemicals altogether.
No Chemical Storage & Handling
Since disinfectant is produced on demand, there’s no need to store, transport or handle commercial chlorine chemicals on site — removing a major safety and logistics burden.
No Operator Intervention
Doses automatically as levels drop and warns operators in case of any error, eliminating the entire follow-up process of checking whether the disinfectant is finished.
Fast Payback: Less Than 2 Years
The generator pays for itself in less than 2 years — achieving savings above the promised profit despite rising chemical costs.
Reduced Acid Consumption
On-site produced chlorine has a lower pH than commercial chlorine, removing the need for additional pH regulators. Acid consumption dropped significantly.
No More Biocide Spend
Algae formation stopped completely after the switch, ending the need to purchase extra biocides for edge areas.
No Odor, No Irritation
Chlorine smell and eye/skin irritation complaints disappeared completely after switching from commercial chlorine.
Zero Guest Complaints
Where commercial chlorine carried the risk of allergic reactions, this system has never had a single guest complaint since installation.
Residual Chlorine, Guaranteed
Even with no detectable odor, free chlorine levels remain fully sufficient — confirmed by the property’s own technical team firsthand.
Free Chlorine in Every Condition
Skips the chloramine step that traps commercial chlorine as “bound chlorine,” keeping free chlorine present even on hot, crowded peak days.
Algae Completely Eliminated
The produced sodium hypochlorite contains mixed oxidants; disinfecting not just the water but also the surfaces it contacts.
Less Shock Chlorination
Continuous free chlorine availability sharply reduced the need for evening shock chlorination sessions.
You have left behind an intense season. As Granada Luxury, how would you evaluate this post-pandemic season?
As you know Granada Luxury Belek is one of the largest hotels in Turkey and we have area of 100.000 m2 and a capacity of 3400 guests. This season, we hosted 519.097 guests including 376.770 adults, 113.194 children, and 32.433 babies. After the harsh pandemic days, it has been a satisfying season for us. However, you appreciate that at these days the occupancy rate means more responsibility and more hygiene rules to be followed in the world of pandemic. But, I can proudly say that as Granada, we ensured a smooth operation with all our teams in every field from outdoor to indoor areas. This year, as Granada Luxury Belek, we ranked 1st in the “Turkey’s Best Managed/Most Hotel” and “Turkey’s Best Children’s Event Adventure and Entertainment Mediterranean Region Hotel” categories at the QM Awards.
02
Congratulations! You also have the distinction of being one of the largest volume pools with 42.000 m3 in Europe. It is possible to see from the comments that it creates a unique beauty for your guests. They even said in a comment that “It’s as if the hotel doesn’t have a pool, but the pool has a hotel.” It is a very nice explanation. Of course, you should tell me about this issue, too. A pool of this size must also be difficult to manage and maintain.
The hotel itself is also very magnificent, but yes, it is true that it has a really remarkable side since you usually cannot see such a pool in any hotel. As Granada Luxury, we always aim to achieve more excellence in every field, but of course, it is necessary to be aware of the effort behind it. Especially when we consider the swimming pool hygiene, it is an issue that needs to be paid attention because it is sometimes independent of your control; depending on the number and use of people or the air temperature. That’s why you can’t pour a certain amount of disinfectant into the pool and say we are done. You have to check every moment, sometimes every minute.
03
It must be difficult to keep track of different areas and ensure that they run smoothly in a hotel that provides 7/24 service to its guests in each area. As far as I know, you started to use a new chlorination technology in pool disinfection. Can you talk a little bit about this technology, did your staff encounter any disruptions or difficulties? Could they easily adapt to a new system?
At first, I had some question marks because as I said before, pool disinfection is a very sensitive subject. But, I can say tis system has greatly reduced our operation load. Since it provides on-site production, we can produce sodium hypochlorite by using only salt, water and electricity and dose the amount of chlorine we want if we need it. Furthermore, this system produces disinfectant automatically as it falls below the level we set, without the need for operators’ intervention. In case of any error, it provided convenience to our operation by warning our operators. In this way, we have eliminated the entire follow-up process which includes problems such as whether the disinfectant is finished or not. Thus, we got rid of the operation load of purchasing chemicals used in disinfection process as well.
But, I can say tis system has greatly reduced our operation load.
04
Did you gain any cost advantage after starting to use this new electrochlorination system?
We worked with a company, which is the only developer and manufacturer of this technology in Turkey and has over 46 years. Since it is a very unknown system for us, a special feasibility report has been prepared for us so that there is no question mark in our minds. When we look at the report prepared at the end of 1 year and consider the increase in chemical costs this year, I can say that we have achieved a cost saving above the promised profit.
05
Are there any biocide costs due to algae formation in the pool? Or, did you need to buy additional chemicals besides the disinfectant you used before?
Previously we had to use biocides in order to delay the formation of algae in some edge areas. My expectation was that after using this sodium hypochlorite, algae formation would decrease a little more, but it would continue. That’s why I thought we’d continue to use biocides even if it was a small amount, to tell the truth. However, after starting to use this new system for a very short time, we saw that this algae problem disappeared directly, so we stopped using additional chemicals and saved money from it. Since the produced sodium hypochlorite contains mix oxidants, it disinfected not only the pool water but also the surfaces it came into contact with, and completely prevented the formation of algae. Additionally, we used pH regulators because commercial chlorine has a much higher pH. However, since on-site production chlorine has lower pH, we no longer need to use additionally pH regulators. Our acid consumption has decreased significantly.
06
Cost saving is important for every business, but I know that for Granada Luxury, the experiences of its guests are just as important. Generally, there are complaints such as the smell of chlorine or eye redness and skin irritation in using the swimming pool. Do you get a lot of such complaints?
Commercial chlorine has such a downside. On one hand, it provides a more hygienic pool experience for our guests; on the other hand, causes some complaints due to smell and allergic reactions. When we couldn’t provide the best experience, we thought, frankly, whether there is a meaning of having the largest pool or not. As I said at the beginning, as Granada Luxury, we never stop developing to offer the best experience in every field. This technology is already approved by the Ministry of Health and has a biocidal license. This new electro-chlorination technology, made us think there could be safer and greener way of pool disinfection because I can say that we have never had such complaints since we started to use it. Even I have witnessed that some of our guests asked whether the pool water is chlorinated or not because they did not smell any chlorine odor. When I asked the authorized personnel, I was surprised to learn that the pool disinfection was fully ensured and they even obtained residual chlorine enough. We are used to smelling the odor of chlorine, the contrary situation surprised me of course.
Electro-chlorination technology, shows us that there could be safer and greener way of pool disinfection.
07
Well, what can you say about the disinfection effect of on-site sodium hypochlorite production from brine? The air temperatures were really incredible this summer, did you encounter any problems with disinfection? Have there been cases where it was ineffective when compared to commercial chlorine?
We had very hot and very crowded season. Since high temperatures cause chlorine to evaporate quickly, it is necessary to increase the dosage amount. However, since this system is produced on site, we can produce and dose it whenever we want. Rather than the air temperatures, the main point to be considered here is the high number of people using the pool. Because as the number of uses increases, a lot of organic load is added to the pool water. In this case, we encounter an important problem such as the conversion of free chlorine to bound chlorine. But the real reason is that since commercial chlorine stuck in the chloramine steps, bound chlorine formation is inevitable. These chloramines in the water also cause eye redness or skin irritation. In order to eliminate such problems from the beginning, it is necessary to increase the amount of free chlorine in the pool with continuous chlorine supplementation before the amount of bound chlorine increases so that the bound chlorine can switch to free chlorine. However, it is not healthy to dose high amount of chlorine continuously during use. For this reason, after very crowded days, we were doing shock chlorination, especially in the evening when the pool was not used to avoid these situations. I can say that shock chlorination period seriously decreased in comparison with on-site electrochlorination usage because it does not cause the formation of bound chlorine by skipping the chloramine steps easily and quickly. We can see free chlorine in all conditions. For us, this is one of the points where we see the effect of this new system at the highest level.
08
On-site electrochlorination technologies are just becoming more common. Finally, if you have any suggestions for other hotels that want to use this technology, we’d like to hear it.
I’ve always wanted to talk about its advantages, but basically, you’re shifting to a system that works differently from commercial chlorine logic; it may take time to adapt. You should also be aware of this. The important thing here is the company that is with you when you shift to this technology. Here I have to give a special parenthesis: Kemisan’s Technical Team, who got back to us as soon as possible, did not make us feel the difficulties of this transition. I would like to thank them through this interview. Because even with every need, they were with us with a great harmony and support. When we consider it, we were already disinfecting the pool with the use of commercial chlorine before, but I cannot claim that we offer the best service because of the possible allergic reactions to commercial chlorine. That’s why our cooperation with Kemisan has enabled us to disinfect the pool in a much more effective, more environmental friendly, safe and healthy way. With HypoX® our concern was not only to provide hygiene but to do it in the best possible way. As Granada, our main motto tells this; in fact, let’s finish this nice conversation with it: Luxury is not a coincidence !
