Pool heat Hype? HELP!

[mcaron74]

I live in Maine, and have an inground 20x40 lazy L..... I have no idea the galons but it is a typical 3ftish at the shalow end and 8ft ish at the deap end traditional hopper style. I am going to be putting in a new liner in the next few weeks and hope to then get the pool up and running. right now the pool/pool room has its own oil fired furnace for the pool water heat exchanger and the radiant floor heat.

1. I have to keep the room at atleast above freezing all year every year(well insulated but is a 45x70 room)
2. I would like to use the pool normaly april-November
3. This year as it is the first year i would like to use it through new years
4. I do have a seperate 8-10 person older electric hot tub.
5. Natural gas is not available in my area but i do get a good deal (i think) on propane ($2.05 for 2011-2012 season)
Month Temperature °F
Average Absolute
max min max min
January 32.9 13.5 59 -20
February 35.2 15.1 57 -18
March 43.3 24.1 86 -5.8
April 54.9 33.6 84 14.9
May 66 44.1 93.9 28
June 75.9 54.1 98.6 33.8
July 80.8 59.5 97 46
August 79.9 59 95 39.2
September71.6 51.3 93 28.4
October 60.3 39.7 79 19
November48.9 31.1 73.9 1
December38.3 19.9 66.9 -15.2

I have inquired on some sites about heat pumps and the dealer claims some work (with a defroster) to well below 40degrees(and shows pics of it working at 30-32).
1. Is it worth if for a heat pump?
2. Will i need 2 sources?
3. Shold i convert the oil furnace to propane, or scrap it all together and do something else?
4. Should i believe a dealer that their product can do what they say or are they just selling?
5. Is there ANY chance in heck I will be able to aford ANY type of heat for this room/ pool this winter?
6. There is a product simiar to a heat pump that they say to put in your attic where it is normaly hot(new house so i dont know about the winter but in the summer its atleast 20degrees hotter)
7. Is there any chance solar heat or the $200 panels would do anything for me or be atleast a part of my solution?
8. I have a humidy controled exhaust fan for the room.... isnt that just going to suck all my heat out/ and be a huge heat loss even when it is not on?

Thanks for any help you all can offer... got a great deal on a forclosure... now i got to figure out how to afford to live there!

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

A heat pump requires outdoor exposure. Skip it.

Solar requires outdoor exposure/ Skip it.

A propane fired heater can be installed indoors given the supply to fresh air for combustion is sufficient and it's exhaust gasses can be vented outside. Propane is a product of oil refining.

A heated indoor pool will make the room pretty warm.

Water takes far more BTUs to heat than air. The oil fired system is not likely to to produce enough meaningful heat to warm the pool to your liking.

A 400,000 BTU heater will use just as much propane to heat the pool from 75 to 80 as a 250,000 unit. The only difference is the amount of time needed to get it done.

A heated indoor pool will also increase condensation in the room, especially in the winter. A solar cover will help reduce humidity in the room some.

Scott

 

[jongig]

I'm not sure why solar wouldn't work if you had the roof space and the roof was facing south. I am amazed how much heat is produced by my 5-4x8' house solar panels. Since you're using them in colder weather you'd have to use insulated panels and not pool type panels.

As for the humidity. I might get creative here and look for a small heat pump like those used for DHW and heat the pool water with it. It would not do much for the pool but you may be able to control humidity and the electric costs would at least do two things instead of one.

It always for me comes down to overall costs over time. You also could build the system to heat the house and maybe get a tax credit. In my case I did this and then in the warmer months when the system is not heating the house it heats the pool. It will take me some years to get paid back over the low cost of a propane heater but I was getting tired of dealing with the propane company every August over what my costs would be for the next season. I'm guessing you pre-buy yours as I did. I also went to Geothermal for the house heat and now I don't know if I use a hundred gallons of propane per year. In a couple years I will have paid myself back so to speak although even now it feels free.

 

[mcaron74]

Hmmm i have read that geo-thermal is 25-60k to install and has a 12-15 year payback?

As for an air heat pump... that is a good point using it for double duty.... but am i just shooting myself in the foot if i am using it in a room i am heating in the spring and fall?

As far as solar... my roof (2800sqft) faces west south west so it gets sun about 10:30ish until sun down... not sure if tht is good enough? Anyone have any experience with solar that they would recomend?

thanks for the info!

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

@mcaron74, The OP lives in Maine. The is plenty of cold weather there. If the air vent water check froze while in operation, the freeze cracks resulting would be disastrous. It can get down below freezing there from September to May. Solar is a pretty long term high risk option.

Scott