Anyone have any experience or advice with swimming pool heat pumps? We live in southern KY and about to put in a pool. Trying to decide if it's worth the upfront expense to put in a heat pump to extend the time we can use the pool.
In ground pool heat pump
- Thread starter jaw4ukcats
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Depends how big the pool is. We have one, but almost never use it. The problem is the cost to heat the pool will really drive up your utility bill. By a lot.You dont add days to the pool either. If you want that, get a hot tub.
I have a heat pump on my inground pool and it depends on how late, or early, in the season you will actually swim. We do use it a little in late May and early June, depending on the weather. We also use it in mid to late September, depending on the weather. I just don't have any desire to swim though when it is really cool, so we haven't really been using it as much as you could to extend the swim season. I think that is the question you have to answer. Will you swim a lot when the air temperature is in the 60s. We don't.
That's basically it. Big pool with a deep end? Not worth it. Small shallow/sport pool? Can be worth it.
The reason I refuse to put a pool in is because my wife would demand a heat pump. Then she would proceed to heat the damn pool year round. Yep, you read that right. She would heat the pool in the middle of the summer. Pretty much defeats the whole purpose of having a pool. Thus...we shall remain pool-less.
I would rather have the infrequent pool/no pool discussion rather than the constant arguement every day for three Summer months about why the pool is heated.
I would rather have the infrequent pool/no pool discussion rather than the constant arguement every day for three Summer months about why the pool is heated.
We have a (gas) heater connected to our in-ground pool.
It can be quite costly to use. First time we used it, heated it too long, turned into a 20K gallon hot tub, and burned/melted holes in the cover.
It's not really for extending the season, but rather taking a swim off-season for 2-4 days (depending on how cold it is). I imagine if you heat in in Oct or Apr it will last for 4-5 days. In Jan or Feb more like 1-2 days. We will heat it 2-4 times a year, maybe a end of football season party for the kids, when we get our first snow of the year, and once around April.
The gas-bill cost will vary on how much you need to heat it, but will run $50-$150 each time. We put our gas bill (which is only the pool heater, fireplace, & hot water heater) on a yearly payment plan, so it runs about $60/mo. I'd guess the pool heater is about 50-60% of that.
There is piping that you can buy that connects to your in-flow connection that puts it at the bottom of the pool so that when you heat it the hot water is going to the bottom and not being cooled by the air. It says it can heat a pool much faster saving $, but I havent' tried it to know if it really works or not.
It can be quite costly to use. First time we used it, heated it too long, turned into a 20K gallon hot tub, and burned/melted holes in the cover.
It's not really for extending the season, but rather taking a swim off-season for 2-4 days (depending on how cold it is). I imagine if you heat in in Oct or Apr it will last for 4-5 days. In Jan or Feb more like 1-2 days. We will heat it 2-4 times a year, maybe a end of football season party for the kids, when we get our first snow of the year, and once around April.
The gas-bill cost will vary on how much you need to heat it, but will run $50-$150 each time. We put our gas bill (which is only the pool heater, fireplace, & hot water heater) on a yearly payment plan, so it runs about $60/mo. I'd guess the pool heater is about 50-60% of that.
There is piping that you can buy that connects to your in-flow connection that puts it at the bottom of the pool so that when you heat it the hot water is going to the bottom and not being cooled by the air. It says it can heat a pool much faster saving $, but I havent' tried it to know if it really works or not.
OP, you deserve full disclosure here. That pool right there ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ was spawned by Satan himself and is cursed for life. So don't base your decision on mav's advice alone. Unless of course you too have a crazy Aunt-in-law who wills you Satan-spawned cursed above ground pool.Originally posted by maverick1:
Truer words have rarely been spoken. Read Wonderbrow's words OP, let them sink in, then take heed. Otherwise, here's what you have to look forward to...
Here in south Florida a lot of folks are using roof top solar panels to heat or at least augment the heating of their pools in the winter months, when temps can drop down into the 40s at night. Not sure how effective they would be in KY but it might be worth checking into.
Guess I'll throw my question in as well...
My pool is 20x40, 6 feet deep throughout. No "deep" end per se. I have large trees on the east side, so the pool doesn't begin getting much sunlight until 10-11 AM. Missing out on the early morning sun makes a huge difference. For instance, the water temperature during the warmest part of last year's summer never got above 80.
I'd love for the pool to be 80-82 throughout the summer, so I've considered a pool heater. The problem is that I live in a rural area that doesn't have gas service, so the only heating options available to me are electric.
Anyone have any experience with electric pool heaters? Are they effective? How expensive an investment is it, and how much does it impact your monthly utility bill?
My pool is 20x40, 6 feet deep throughout. No "deep" end per se. I have large trees on the east side, so the pool doesn't begin getting much sunlight until 10-11 AM. Missing out on the early morning sun makes a huge difference. For instance, the water temperature during the warmest part of last year's summer never got above 80.
I'd love for the pool to be 80-82 throughout the summer, so I've considered a pool heater. The problem is that I live in a rural area that doesn't have gas service, so the only heating options available to me are electric.
Anyone have any experience with electric pool heaters? Are they effective? How expensive an investment is it, and how much does it impact your monthly utility bill?
My buddy who lives in GA put in one last summer. He used it a little this past winter and said after he got the first utility bill from using it, he wished he never got one.
I believe there are some more "Green" pumps on the market now that are supposed to make a significant dent in the electric bill, but do not know anything about them or how much they cost. May be worth looking into.
Final point, everyone I know who has put in a pool absolutely despises it. I know two people who loves their pool. One is retired and has a lot of time on their hands keeping it clean and the other hires someone to maintain it. The rest deal with it because their kids love it, but the time and money they put into keeping it clean and all drives them crazy.
I believe there are some more "Green" pumps on the market now that are supposed to make a significant dent in the electric bill, but do not know anything about them or how much they cost. May be worth looking into.
Final point, everyone I know who has put in a pool absolutely despises it. I know two people who loves their pool. One is retired and has a lot of time on their hands keeping it clean and the other hires someone to maintain it. The rest deal with it because their kids love it, but the time and money they put into keeping it clean and all drives them crazy.
They aren't maintenance-free, but if you go with a salt-water system they are a heck of a lot easier to maintain. Other than fishing out pine needles & leaves I really don't do much to my pool. Check the chlorine & alkalinity about once every month or two, add a bag of salt 1-2 times a year. Now the salt system isn't cheap, and I just had to replace mine after 8-9 years for about $900 (I think). I don't have to winterize it either, just keep the pump running all winter, with the chlorinator set low and a cover on the pool to limit the leaves & pine needles.
I live in South Florida (Ft. Lauderdale), and recently bought a house with a pool but without a heat pump. We had a heat pump installed for about $5,000. I think it is a good thing to have, but even in So Fla a heater is not going to make you want to go swimming when it is cold or even cool outside. For example, in December, January, February, the highs here are in the 70s, maybe around 80. Even then, people who live here don't go swimming in their pools. The air temperature outside is too "cold" to do so. Tourists that come down of course have a different view. So, my point is that a heat pump is a nice thing to have, but it is expensive and it is not really going to make your cool usable in more than a couple of the off months.
I wanted to clear up some terminology so everyone is on the same page. Although there is such a thing as a gas heat pump, they are very rare. The term heat pump generally refers to an electric device that heats the pool water in the same manner as a heat pump heats the air in your house. They are very efficient, but they are slower to bring the water temperature up to temperature. That is what I have and it is not nearly as costly to operate as a gas heater or an electric resistance heater. The tradeoff is speed. You are not going to turn on a heat pump when your pool is 70 degrees and swim anytime soon if you want it to be 85. You have to leave a heat pump set at a certain temperature or plan ahead if you want to turn it off and on because it doesn't heat quickly..
Do you mind saying what the ballpark upfront cost was? An electric heat pump is what we are considering. And has having the heat pump really extended the time that you've used it?
It sounds to me like the high monthly cost to heat your pool is exactly what you need to really remind you every month how bad of an investment that pool really is.
I think a heat pump is the way to go because it won't cost you an arm and a leg to heat your pool. Like I said above, it depends on if you will swim when the air temperature is in the 60s. We use ours some in May and September, but beyond that, we don't extend the pool season. We just have no interest in swimming when the air temperature is in the 60s, or even low 70s. It's just too cool when you get out of the pool and unless it is hot, I really don't have the desire to swim anyway. It does give you control over your pool temperature during the summer. Occasionally, you have mild weather in June or even July, and you want the water temp to be higher than it is. That is worth something in and of itself. If you are like me, you will get some usage out of the heat pump, but will not substantially extent the season with it. If you enjoy swimming when the temp is in the low 70s and 60s, then you will get a lot of use out of it.
I can't remember what mine cost because we installed it all when we built the pool and I can't remember the individual component costs. I would suspect it was a few thousand dollars, but I could be wrong.
I put in a salt water pool years ago and it is really the way to go for various reasons and I certainly don't despise it. Very little maintenance and/or chemicals...other than opening and closing. We have really enjoyed it and don't regret putting it in.
I considered a pool heater, but after doing research and talking to those who have one, I decided against it. I just couldn't justify it financially, although I can afford it. Now if I was extremely wealthy, I would probably have one.
I considered a pool heater, but after doing research and talking to those who have one, I decided against it. I just couldn't justify it financially, although I can afford it. Now if I was extremely wealthy, I would probably have one.
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