Heat Pump vs NG heater with Auto-cover in southern WI

[draxe90]

We are getting ready to install a new pool and we are deciding between an Aqua-comfort heat pump vs a NG Heater. MY boys love water and would swim everyday. Just wondering about the experience of others with each for heating. We plan to open from May to October

 

[wjr75]

I would go with a 400k BTU NG Raypak heater. It gets cold up here and the heat pump will not cut it when the temps drop in the spring and fall.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Basically an NG heater (get the largest possible 400kBTU/hr) will give you the ability to heat up quickly. With an auto cover you should be able to retain a lot of the heat you add. A heat pump is more of a "set it & forget it" where you leave it running all the time since it heats more slowly. A HP loses efficiency as the outside air temps drop and pretty much will produce no heat when the air temp us below 50F. Gas can be used anytime but should not be used when the air temps are below 55F since the exhaust gas (mostly water) can condense and leave behind a mildly corrosive condensate (due to dissolves NOx gases). It's like a car muffler rotting out faster in winter when used for short trips because the engine/exhaust gas never gets warm enough.

I think gas is a better choice but it also depends a lot on your utility rates.