I had my pool heater installed last May. Before I installed it, I found a great online pool heat cost calculator but the link no longer works. I remember that it estimated that it would be most expensive to heat the pool in January and February (several hundred dollars per month). Next most expensive month was December (maybe $200 for the month).
After installation, the increase in my electric costs for the summer months was minimal, maybe $50/month through September. I turned off the heater in late October/early November as the air temps were too cold for me to swim. I turned it on for a week at Thanksgiving for my guests and that probably cost about $100.
A 5 kWh heater will cost 60 cents a minute to run. In current temps, it would probably have to run almost 24/7 to keep the pool at 85 degrees. 60 cents times 24 is about $14/day.
Right now, on Feb. 10, my pool temp is 70 degrees. I'll wait until it's around 75 degrees before I turn on the heater, probably some time in March.
If you have a pool cover, you can greatly decrease the cost of heating the pool. I tried that, but it was too much of a bother to put it on and off (kidney shaped pool). My solar blanket sat next to the pool, in the bird cage. I threw it out after a year, since it was disintegrating.
The pool came with the house. If I had to do it again, I'd build a rectangle shaped pool with a built in automatic cover.
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