Camping De Betuwe Hoeve, Netherlands

Since Rob and Sophie took over the De Betuwe Hoeve campsite in Ommeren, Netherlands roughly five years ago, they have been hard at work making the campsite more sustainable. Thanks to the modernisation and expansion of the sanitary facilities with solutions from Schell, they have succeeded in making their ‘green’ campsite even more environmentally friendly.

Project data

25 pitches, 1 bungalow for 4 people, 1 camper pitch

January–March 2019, 3 months

Construction: Stenderbouw

Installation: Verkade Installatie Techniek

Cable laying: Elektrotechniek A.H.C. Van Ommeren

SCHELL products: Water Management System SWS, XERIS E HD-M electronic wash basin tap, GRANDIS E HD-M electronic kitchen tap, LINUS Basic D-C-T concealed shower

Camping De Betuwe Hoeve is located in lush countryside, known as the ‘Pearl of Betuwe’, next to the Ommerense Bos woodlands. The old wooded parkland on the Den Eng estate is perfect for quiet country walks. “We see ourselves as a ‘green’ campsite – and not only because we offer our guests the chance to relax in this wonderful rural location,” says Rob, the campsite owner. "We’re also working hard to make our campsite as sustainable as possible in many different ways. As one example, we generate our own green power with solar collectors, our lighting along the campsite paths is provided by solar-powered lamps, and we’ve recently renewed our driveway sustainably with a layer of lava rock, ‘tree sand’ and panels made from recycled domestic plastic waste.” An energy-efficient hot water system is also available, which will be extended with a solar boiler in the future.

Two years ago, feedback from guests had clearly indicated that the old WC building was no longer fit for purpose, and too small for the campsite with its 25 generously sized pitches and camper van pitch. A combined expansion and renovation project was planned. While looking for a system that would help prevent Legionella while reducing the workload involved in maintaining sanitary equipment, the company that had installed the campsite facilities discovered Schell at a trade show in 2018.

The project to expand the sanitary facilities and make them more sustainable lasted three months and was completed in early 2019. Alongside the expert advice provided by Schell consultant Xander Bianchi, other teams also made a stalwart effort to improve the De Betuwe Hoeve campsite’s environmental credentials. Conversion work was completed by the Culemborg-based Stenderbouw, with Verkade Installatie Techniek from De Meern responsible for installations. The cabling was laid by Elektrotechniek A.H.C. Van Ommeren. Rob explains: “I was very satisfied with the service provided by Schell. Xander was very proactive and everything went smoothly when working with the three different teams.”

Schell fitted out the bathrooms at the campsite with three XERIS E wash basin taps and three LINUS D-C-T concealed showers. The kitchen area, where campsite guests can wash up their crockery, was equipped with two GRANDIS E kitchen taps. One special feature of GRANDIS E is that these taps not only provide contactless actuation with an infrared sensor but also offer single-lever operation if a continuous flow of water is needed. The sensor responds to hand movements at a distance of approximately 3 cm. This prevents the flow of water being triggered accidentally if someone is simply working in the sink.

All taps installed are now managed and controlled centrally via the Schell SWS Server. The Schell Water Management System SWS not only provides Rob with logging for all flushes and temperature measurements but also monitors water consumption. “With these new taps and the Schell Water Management System, we are now ready to save a lot of water,” Rob reports.

“Because our campsite opens and closes on a seasonal basis, we sat down with Immo-lab as a first step in order to prepare a Legionella management plan. We found out that maintaining the water quality by flushing the system manually would require a lot of time and use a lot of water. We also discovered that we couldn’t measure the temperatures in the piping, so we would have to flush more often. By using products from Schell, however, which are equipped with a thermostat and linked up to the Water Management System SWS, we can now measure these temperatures and record them in the log. Thanks to automated flushing, we can also avoid wasting too much water. So this gives us a safe and sustainable approach to maintaining water quality. And it gives us more time to spend looking after our campsite guests.” Which is something that Robert and Sophie do with a lot of attention to detail. From organising pizza evenings to arts-and-crafts afternoons for guests, their dedicated team makes every campsite stay one to remember. Guests can also look forward to tips for local day trips and a helping hand wherever one is necessary – and even an exclusive pedicure service provided personally by campsite owner Sophie.