Reviewing my whole house power consumption the other day and wondered how much of my bill was consumed by my pool pump. Found an online chart that based on horsepower, speed and run-time displayed that I was using 392kwh per month. I did the math (with the help of Excel) and found that my pool pump for 2.5 years is averaging 27% of my electric usage. I currently have a Pentair WhisperFlo 1.5 HP single speed pump for my 11,600 gallon pool/spa including a spa-spillover running 8 hours per day 365 days per year. So I started digging into the possibility of installing a variable speed pump. I read a few articles on the web and this site but would like more direct feedback. All my equipment is Pentair but should I stick with it or does one of the other reputable brands provide equivalent savings/features? I'm running a solar heater(8 panels), water feature and gas heater (for the spa). I'm also concerned about impact on skimmer & vacuum performance. Will a variable speed handle all of these features as well as my single speed does and still provide the reduced kilowatt consumption. I've read that I'd have to run the variable speed around 12 hours per day but the extended run-time would be a significantly reduced cost. I'm hoping that by amortizing the pump/installation costs that I can justify a 12 month return on my investment and subsequent savings on my electric consumption.
Appreciate any feedback from forum members that I can use as a guide in making my decision.
Appreciate any feedback from forum members that I can use as a guide in making my decision.