In an effort to reduce the number of deadly pool accidents each year, French law requires residential swimming pools to be equipped with approved safety protection systems.
The French legislation relating to swimming pools defines four main categories of pool safety systems.
If you are a residential pool owner in France, the following information explains the key principles of the NF P 90-308 safety standard.
To secure and protect your pool, one of the following systems may be used:
The NF P 90-308 standard defines the minimum safety requirements, testing procedures and consumer guidance relating to swimming pool safety covers and their fastening systems designed to prevent drowning risks for children under 5 years old.
Covers intended only to protect the water surface (bubble covers, floating covers, etc.) are excluded from this standard.
To comply with the standard, a safety cover must support the weight of a child walking on it without sinking. The cover must also support an adult weight of 100 kg without damage to the cover or its fastening system.
In addition, the system must withstand the impact of a falling weight of 50 kg without deterioration of the fixation system attached to the pool coping.
Fixation systems must not present any risk of injury for children. To prevent tripping hazards around the pool surround, elements of the fastening system must not protrude more than 25 mm above the pool surface.
All materials used by the pool manufacturer, including anchoring and fastening systems, must comply with applicable French and European regulations.
Official reference of the standard:
NF P 90-308 Pool Safety Standard (Official AFNOR Reference)
The European NF EN 17645 standard establishes a common framework for evaluating the environmental performance and energy efficiency of domestic outdoor swimming pools and their equipment.
Introduced in 2022, the standard provides a methodology for assessing how efficiently a swimming pool operates in terms of energy consumption, water usage, and environmental impact.
The standard analyses the environmental efficiency of a pool installation by taking into account several technical components of the pool system.
Based on these criteria, pools and equipment are assigned an environmental performance classification ranging from A (highest efficiency) to F (lowest efficiency). This rating helps pool owners compare technologies and select solutions that reduce energy consumption, water loss and operating costs.
Pool covers play a key role in achieving high environmental performance, as they significantly reduce evaporation and heat loss, helping to limit water consumption and heating energy.
The NF EN 17645 framework therefore promotes more sustainable swimming pool design by encouraging the use of efficient equipment and energy-saving technologies.
Official reference of the standard:
View NF EN 17645 Environmental Performance Standard (AFNOR Official Page)