Racine Unified Aquatic Facility
Power, lighting, sports lighting, and HVAC for Racine Unified School District's aquatic center.
Project Overview
Power, lighting, and HVAC across the 53,000 ft² aquatic center, covering competition pools, diving well, training pool, spectator areas, locker rooms, and hospitality spaces, including the pool ventilation and dehumidification.
The Racine Unified Aquatic Facility was completed for Racine Unified School District and bid to public procurement standards. WIL-Surge Electric delivered the power and lighting for the entire 53,000 ft² facility, from the pool deck to the spaces around it.
- Location
- Racine, WI
- Owner
- Racine Unified School District
- Size
- 53,000 ft²
- Procurement
- Bid to public procurement standards
- Our scope
- Power, lighting, and sports lighting
- Market
- Schools & education
Electrical, Sports Lighting & HVAC Scope
Our in-house crews delivered power and lighting across every part of the facility: the competition pools, diving well, and training pool, plus the spectator areas, locker rooms, and hospitality spaces that serve them.
Over the pools, that included sports lighting for the competition pools, diving well, and training pool. We install and upgrade sports lighting for athletic complexes, stadiums, and aquatic facilities, engineered for spill-light control.
Our crews also handled the HVAC, including the ventilation and dehumidification an indoor pool depends on to keep moisture off walls, windows, and roof structures. With the mechanical and electrical scopes under one company, that equipment and the power feeding it were planned together.
Electrical Considerations for Natatoriums
Indoor pools are among the toughest environments for electrical systems. The air in a natatorium is warm and humid, and pool water treatment chemicals can make that air corrosive to metal over time. In general, fixtures, enclosures, and devices in these spaces are selected for damp or wet conditions and for resistance to corrosion, and equipment locations are planned to keep sensitive gear out of the pool environment where possible.
Electrical work in and around pools also carries its own code rules. The National Electrical Code dedicates an article to swimming pools and similar installations, Article 680, and it shapes how equipment near the water is installed and protected. Facilities like this are best served by electricians who work to those requirements as a matter of routine.
In the spaces around a pool, needs shift again. Locker rooms generally call for fixtures suited to damp conditions, while spectator seating and hospitality areas need comfortable lighting and convenient power for meets and events.
Lighting Over Water
Lighting a pool is different from lighting a gym. Water reflects light, and glare off the surface can make it harder for swimmers, coaches, officials, and lifeguards to see clearly. Fixture placement and aiming are generally planned to limit reflected glare while keeping light levels even across the lanes, the diving well, and the deck.
Maintenance access deserves just as much attention. Fixtures mounted high over the water are difficult to reach, so owners generally favor long-life LED fixtures and mounting locations that can be serviced from the deck or another accessible position without special arrangements.
School districts planning a similar facility should also consider how the space will be used day to day. A lighting control system that switches between practice, physical education, and competition settings lets staff match light levels to each use, which saves energy and extends fixture life.
Related Services
The aquatic facility anchors our work in Racine. See our commercial contractors in Racine for work across Racine County, or our school construction contractors page for K-12 districts, technical colleges, and universities. Explore the services behind this project:
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