thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.....

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C

cmayes71

0
Jun 11, 2009
11
Tennessee
We have a 28,800 gallon pool. It's 33' round and 54" deep. We just installed a salt water system. The water is so cold we aren't using the pool. What heating system would be best for us? We had planned on going to the beach but my husband said "why don't we get a pool heater instead?". It would definitely make the water more comfortable. I haven't read the temp of the water but it is very cold. I shiver in it. lol.

Please suggest best heating system for such a large pool. Cost is a factor for us.

Thank you.

Cindy
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

Gas is likely the cheapest up front cost but in your area a heat pump (more expensive) might be a better investment since you live in a warmer environment. Really depends on how warm you like it, we have ours set at 32C, I doubt a heat pump could achieve that when the air temp is 10-20C and the ground temp is 5C this time of year. Ideally both would be best, cheap heating from the heat pump when the weather is warm and gas heat when it gets colder or to get the temps up right away...heat pumps are pretty slow in comparison.

Solar is another alternative but the suns never out when you need the heat the most. If you can afford only one I would look at the cost comparisons of heat pumps to gas in your area, a knowledgable pool store in your neck of the woods should know.
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

check this out wse47 solar heat i have this installed this year live in southern ontario
air temp was 86f mon pool was 72f at 6am 80f at 4 pm on sun the pool was 67f at 6am 72f at 4pm
and the guy that installed is still working out some kinks as i had to put mine on the ground as here in ontario i would have to apply for a building permit to put it on the roof (money grab)
the water flow is better with gravity doing the work than trying to manually adjusting flow
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

It also depends on your utility rates for electricity (heat pump) and gas (heater). The guy from Winnipeg may be able to afford to keep his natural gas heated water at 32 degrees C (89.5 F), but here in Eastern Canada I have (much more expensive) propane, and am currently keeping the heater at a much cooler 25 (77 F), but still much warmer than the beach, which is probably around 17/62 at the moment. The heater is primarily used in late May when I open, and through June, but is seldom turned on in July and August, and only on weekends in Sept., so I get by on about $500 for the season. The advantage of gas, besides lower initial purchase price, is that you can bring the temp from cold to swimmable in one day, while the heat pump and solar take much longer. I would consider solar for supplemental heat, but would not, in my climate, use it as my only heat source. In TN, though, you may be able to get by with it. The other disadvantages are more plumbing to leak, and the requirement for a place to put all those panels. I don't have much knowledge of heat pumps, as our high electricity rates and colder temperatures tend to confine their use here to smaller AGP's.
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

Thank you all. This week it has been in the upper 80's low 90's here, weather wise. Is it possible the water will heat up soon just from the sun? The pool is in full sun. We may be able to get by with solar panels. Usually our summers are hot. We have a solar cover that we can keep on while the pool is not in use. It is very heavy though.
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

Adding solar panels is your best way to go. They can also be used in the middle of the summer as coolers. Keeping your solar cover on is a huge help in warming the pool. Especially use it at night.
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

So I'm curious. Our pool has a heater but we've never switched it on (nor do I believe we need to!). When we bought the house, we were told it could run $1200 a month (it is gas) to heat the pool an additional 5 degrees. I spoke to a neighbor with a similar size pool and he stated his pool heat bill alone is about $1000 per month for the same effect, confirming what we were told. Are you all paying this kind of money to heat your pools? I've been curious about this ever since we heard how much it could cost.
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

I've got a 22000 gallon pool with a 400K Natural gas heater. I heated my pool from 70 to 80 for an entire weekend in early May and once in mid-May and it cost me $70 in gas. I think $1000/month is a little high, but using a pool cover and heating selectively when the weather is expected to be reasonable, you can manage a much better cost per month. I've used the heater for both the pool and hot tub throughout the past 2 months and my average bill was $70/month. Understand I was selective on heating the pool. Only heated it two weekends in the past 2 months, but always heated the hot tub whenever we wanted to jump in. Now here in MD, no need to use the heater anymore. The pool temp sways from 78-82 daily. Heating in late May or early May is a significant difference in planning, but if you manage your pool, you can certainly spend much less in heating costs.
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

Don't have a cover, and buying one for my pool would most likely be cost prohibitive.

$70 a month is a HUGE differenece from $1000 I was quoted!

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I've been considering pulling the heater out. We are already at 84 and climbing. The only reason I have considered keeping it is we have been thinking about a pool remodel next year and have kicked around the idea of adding an attached hot tub. If not used for the pool, we could use it for that.
 

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Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

I see. It would have been nice to have the pool warm enough to use earlier in our season. As you can guess, here in Dallas the weather gets warm enough early in the season that we could use the pool if the water wasn't so cold!
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

I live in NY and consistently heat my pool to 87 degrees during the day and 91 degrees at night. Not every day but at least 1 weekday and every fri-sun.
I also have a spa off the same heater but I dont think it really factors in because it uses very little energy to heat and keep hot.

I have NEVER seen a bill jump anywhere near $1,000 a month. If it did my wife who insists on the pool being that warm to swim would be taking baths instead :)

That being said, it does increase the bill. I cant give exact amounts. Its different all the time.
During the winter the gas in my house is on 24/7 heating that up. During the summer that gas is being used to heat the pool instead.
So perhaps Im just not noticing much of a difference because my bill is always too high :hammer:
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

A lot of the cost depends on what local gas fees are, what your climate is, how warm you like your water, and how much you run it.

You may check Craigslist and some of the local pool stores in your area to see if anyone has any used units. Would save you a bit on upfront costs if you or a friend could install it. Then you could give it a couple of uses and see how it effects your gas bill. You may find that just to run it for when you know you will be using it for a few days verses trying to keep it a steady temperature (may be what your neighbor is doing), the costs may not be too bad.

If you have room, a couple of solar panels are a good option as well. They do work, when the sun is out :) and are a less expensive alternative to using fuel sources (unless you go with high-end versions).
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

I heated our pool last fall for October (Thanksgiving), the air temperature fell to -10C at night and never got over 10C during the day for the entire month. Keeping our 55 000 litre 18X36' kidney shaped pool heated to 32C for the entire month (keeping the cover on when we weren't using it) cost us $400 for that month.

It was expensive for sure, but we loved it!

BTW my 200K BTU gas heater pretty much stayed on steady to keep it heated to that temp, once the solar cover came off it couldn't maintain it...lots of steam rising!
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

You are in TN, so I would think that you have enough available sun to go with solar. Check sites that sell solar for their recommendations for your location and pool size. I only have limited experience with this, but so far, initial purchase price is about the only cost involved. This makes it the best long term option IMHO. You can automate it so you don't even have to think about it once it is set. You don't really even need the air to be all that warm since it is the same principle as a water hose laying out in the sun. Even on a cool day, the sun heats the water that's been sitting in the hose and you feel the heat as soon as you turn on the water. Solar panels do this far more effectively than the water hose I just described though. It's been a long time since college physics, but I'm pretty sure that this is the 1st law of thermodynamics. In lay terms, heat goes from where it is to where it isn't. I had a nerd moment there.

Back to researching your options, We researched various heating options during our decision as well (search our other posts to see more about that.) Anyway, we went with solar in early April and the DIY install was fairly easy. It can be done in a few days if you plan it out well before you begin. The cost for everything in our system was under $2000. Our air temps were in the upper 70's to upper 80's in the day when we started using it and within a few days our pool went from about 72 to holding 85. We used our solar cover when not swimming to prevent heat loss and help maintian the temp over night - lows back then were 50's mostly. By mid May we were at 90 daily without using the cover. We now have it set at 88 and it holds that fine. BTW, we have 5 Aquasol panels 4' x 12' roof mounted on a south facing roof. We get full sun on the panels over 8 hours a day. Since we run the pump about 10 hours a day anyway, the purchase price was the only real cost we've seen so far. 5 panels is actually 1 less than the minimum recommended for our size pool and our location, but so far it's working fine for us. I can easily add 3 more if needed and may add to our system in the fall once we can determine if that will extend pool use enough to justify it. Hope this helps you in your research.
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

I live in Cleveland Ohio where the weather sucks!!! :) The most I have every had in a gas bill from heating my pool was $200. Last year I stopped using a solar cover because I hate them. I keep the pool at 86F. We had some cool nights in June (55F) last year and my bill was $200. I run the heater starting on Friday nights and it kicks on all weekend when needed so that the pool is ready for my weekend swimming. During the week it will sometimes kick on in the morning when I start up the pump. $200 is the most it has EVER been. I think $1200 is a way out number!!!
 
Re: thinking about getting a pool heater vs. going to beach.

I don't really care what system you buy, (solar, gas, electric, wood burning, etc -- I looked at them all too!) but if you are considering solar, one resource that has good "cartoons" and videos explaining the whole solar thing is h2otsun industries. I found them around the time my panels arrived, so I did not buy from them, but I really appreciated the info they have available on their site.

http://www.h2otsun.com/pools/index.html

I learned a lot on this site. Best of luck on your research and choice.
 
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