[DDoug]

Anyone out there have a pool and how do you heat it . Looking for an app. price for the cost for gas or electric heat pump. Per month. Thanks

[l2ridehd]

There are many factors that impact the cost of heating a pool. Outside temperature, how warm you want the pool, size of pool, solar panels, solar cover, and how long you run the heater and circulating pump. I have a 12 X 28 pool that I heat with a gas heater and solar panels assist. Before the solar heater, keeping the pool at 86 degrees during Jan to Mar ran as high as $800 a month depending on outside temperature. Since adding the solar panels, adding a solar cover, it runs a maximum of $250 a month, usually less. And I used to need the pool heater in April and May and Oct and Nov. Now since adding solar panels only Dec through March is the gas heater required. I set the gas heater at 82 degrees and the solar at 90 degrees. Keeps the pool at about 85 to 86 degrees even on the coldest days. Annual cost of gas used to be about $3500, now about $1500. This also includes home heat, hot water, cooking, grill and gas fireplace

It is very important to use the solar cover. The solar panels and gas heater will raise the temperature about 1.5 to 2 degrees an hour. So you can raise the temperature about 10 to 15 degrees a day. Its all about how cold it is outside and how much sun is shinning. However without the cover you lose 10 degrees at night. With the cover only about 3 to 4 degrees at night. So using the solar cover makes a huge difference in recovery time and cost.

[Talk Host]

Gas is a very effective, but very expensive way to heat a pool. A 4 therm gas pool heater consumes as much gas as a furnace in January in upstate New York. (you can actually hear the gas whistling through the pipes when the heater is running)

An electric heat pump is effective but can also be expensive (less so than gas). People don't realize that electricity is THE MOST efficient energy source. 100% of the energy consumed is converted to heat. (No heat or gas going up the chimney)

Solar panels work well in the daytime when the sun is shining. Remember, they are Solar panels, not "lunar" panels. They don't heat at night. Gas and electricity do. The efficiency of solar heating is reduced in the winter months when the sun is in the southern sky. (the sun is tilted 47% further away than it is in June) Neither gas nor electricity reduce their efficiency in the winter, they simply rely on your ability to pay. Many people think (as I do) that solar panels are unsightly.

I use an electric heat pump. I had a gas heater and have discontinued its use. My electric heat pump heats my 30,000 gallon pool to my satisfaction. (88 degrees if I want).

Our first two years in The Villages, we heated year round. Our tolerance for the cost diminished into year three and we now close the pool from late December to March.

JLK

[starflyte1]

We live in South Florida (at least for the next three weeks). Solar is not enough to keep the pool at a comfortable temperature, even further South than TV in the cooler months. Solar needs aux heat. A heat pump is the heater preferred here, and when we move to TV next month, we will put a heat pump in for our tiny pool. Also, a solar cover for several months of the year to keep the heat from the heat pump in the pool.

[ijusluvit]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

There are many factors that impact the cost of heating a pool. Outside temperature, how warm you want the pool, size of pool, solar panels, solar cover, and how long you run the heater and circulating pump. I have a 12 X 28 pool that I heat with a gas heater and solar panels assist. Before the solar heater, keeping the pool at 86 degrees during Jan to Mar ran as high as $800 a month depending on outside temperature. Since adding the solar panels, adding a solar cover, it runs a maximum of $250 a month, usually less. And I used to need the pool heater in April and May and Oct and Nov. Now since adding solar panels only Dec through March is the gas heater required. I set the gas heater at 82 degrees and the solar at 90 degrees. Keeps the pool at about 85 to 86 degrees even on the coldest days. Annual cost of gas used to be about $3500, now about $1500. This also includes home heat, hot water, cooking, grill and gas fireplace

It is very important to use the solar cover. The solar panels and gas heater will raise the temperature about 1.5 to 2 degrees an hour. So you can raise the temperature about 10 to 15 degrees a day. Its all about how cold it is outside and how much sun is shinning. However without the cover you lose 10 degrees at night. With the cover only about 3 to 4 degrees at night. So using the solar cover makes a huge difference in recovery time and cost.

I have a gas heater and solar panels. Because of the optimal southwest exposure and panels which are 50% larger than what would be standard, I can keep my pool at 85 and heat my spa to 95 whenever I want to use it, with a gas bill of less than $200 a month from December to March. Before installing the solar panels I had some $600+ gas bills. If you are starting from scratch I'd study all the options, including the possibility of an electric heat pump system which ties your home AC system to pool heating. Options like these are more expensive, but may qualify you for utility co. rebates and/or tax credits. Between that and utility cost savings, you may be able to recover your investment cost in a reasonable period of time.

[petey]

A solar setup properly sized and facing south, will provide a pool temp approximately 15 degrees above ambient temp. (outside temp)