Heating your swimming pool in seasonal climates like Connecticut requires an energy efficient method of heating pool technology. With only a few hot summer months and some cool evenings, it is important to be able to heat your water quickly. You can extend your swimming season with warmer water for less than what you might think with the right energy efficient pool heater.
The Swimming Pool Store offers pool heater consultations and will help you evaluate the different solutions available to choose the most energy efficient option of heating your pool.
Heating Pool Technologies
When considering a swimming pool heater, it pays to educate yourself on the different heating pool technologies and solutions available, how they work, the energy efficiency of each method and how to estimate your costs. The U.S. Department of Energy offers information on the different methods of heating a swimming pool which include:
- Gas pool heaters
- Electric heat pumps
- Solar swimming pool heaters
Understanding the energy consumed with each method can help to get the most out of your pool heating costs. Other simple tasks like using a solar cover or covering your pool on cool evenings help to maintain pool temperature and minimize energy consumption.
Gas Pool Heaters
One of the most popular methods of heating a pool are with gas fired pool heaters that use either natural gas or propane. The water is drawn through a filter to the pool heater as it circulates through the pump. Gas pool heaters are a good choice when you want to heat your pool quickly, especially in Connecticut. If you see a nice weekend coming but your water won’t be quite warm enough, you can kick it on a day before and enjoy a pool day with 85° water temps if you like. It’s also easy to maintain a nice warm temperature during the entire swimming season with a gas pool heater.
Gas pool heaters today provide much greater energy efficiency than older types of gas heaters with some models achieving greater than 80% efficiency ratings compared to 55% ratings of older models. According to the Department of Energy, this can nearly cut your operating costs in half. An efficiency rating of 80% means that the pool heater uses 80% of the useful heat, wasting only 20%, or using $80 worth of $100 worth of fuel for heating. Some gas heaters today achieve between 85% to 95% efficiency.
The Swimming Pool Store offers installation and maintenance of quality gas pool heaters. We’ll help you calculate operating costs and energy usage to choose the right size of gas heater for your pool.
Heat Pump Swimming Pool Heaters
Heating pools with a heat pump is another option that can be cost-efficient. A heat pump basically draws in outside air and moves it across a coil that absorbs the heat and converts it into warm gas. A compressor increases the heat so an even hotter gas is passed through a condenser. The pool water circulates through the pool heater and back to the pool. Heat pumps require an outside temperature above 45° to 50°F to operate efficiently, which usually is not a problem in the summer months.
The heat pump typically costs more than a gas heater, although it is quite a bit less to operate. Heat pumps are efficient, they use a small amount of energy and, with proper maintenance, can last longer than gas heaters. Heat pumps are rated by the horsepower (hp) and Btu output, such as a 3.5 hp/75,000 Btu, 5 hp/100,000 Btu, or 6 hp/125,000 Btu which are standard sizes.
To choose the right size heater for your pool, you need to determine the rise in temperature, which is the difference between your desired pool temperature and the average outside temperature in the coldest swimming month. Then calculate the surface area in feet squared and multiply the pool area x the temperature rise x 12. You can learn more about determining the right size of heat pump required, the efficiency, and operating costs at energy.gov: Heat Pump Swimming Pool Heaters.
The Swimming Pool Store will assist you in determining the size of heat pump required, the estimated efficiency and costs associated with installing a heat pump for your pool.
Solar Heating Pool Technology
A solar heating system for swimming pools can be highly cost-effective in the right climate, with costs comparable to gas and electric heat pumps and very low operating expenses. A solar heating system requires a collector, a device that water flows through which is heated by the sun, a filter, a pump, and a control valve to either divert or flow water through the collector.
The Swimming Pool Store can help you determine if you have adequate space and the appropriate pool design to have a south-facing solar heating system installed. You do not have to be in sunny Florida or Arizona to enjoy the benefits of heating your pool with solar energy. Solar heating systems work well if the sun is out even on cooler days and still produce some warm energy on cloudy days. In hot climates you can circulate the pool water at night to cool the water.
Using a simple solar cover is a highly recommended method of using solar energy to heat your pool which can be used in addition to other heating pool technologies to conserve energy and maintain the pool temperature. Solar covers do an amazing job of conserving the heat generated in your pool by heating technologies so you use less energy to maintain a heated pool. They can and should be used regardless of the heating technology in use.
POOL HEATER CONSULTATION
Pool Heater Installation Consultation
The Swimming Pool Store offers pool heater consultations to advise you on the best type of heating pool technology for you, your pool, your swimming habits and your budget. The best method depends on several factors, including the sun exposure in your location, the size of your pool, the typical climate, and temperature, which is all pretty consistent across Connecticut with just a few short months of warm enough weather to swim. Installing a pool heater will bring you years of enjoyment with extended pool time of typically 1-2 months.
The Swimming Pool Store has been providing professional pool services and quality products for over 52 years. We use a pool heater calculator with your specific information to determine the most cost-efficient type of pool heater for you. Contact us to start enjoying more swim time with the most energy-efficient method of heating your pool.