Indoor Pool Newbie..Have A Few Silly Questions

[Jeepman]

Hey Yall ! , i look forward to frequenting and contributing to this forum where i can i own a construction company and speciialize in insulation and windows, been doing it for 17 years (family owned business of 38 years) As stated im a indoor pool newbie !

Im in Eastern Canada (newfoundland) and just got my indoor pool up and running september past. I have a few questions, and im sorry if they are stupid or posted in the wrong section

So here goes:

First Up Heres What I got:

18x36 in ground pool oval (4ft deep shallow end, 8 ft deep end, aprox 100,000 liters or so of water)

Heat Types: Hayward heat pump for the summer and a 10kw electric heater for the winter

Sand type filter and a hayward pump (not sure of model)

The pool is indoors as stated.

I hired a contractor or pool builder to install my pool. I done the rest. When he installed it he never gave me any instruction on the heating system and circulation pumps and so on.

The heater is on ALL the time and the pump is on ALL time, 24/7.

Is this necessary ?
We use the pool on the weekends and in the night when we get home from work and the kids from school.

Should i add a timer or something on the pump and or the heater to make my electric bill more sensible or does it have to be on like it is?

Maybe i should get a pump controller or a high efficency pump ? or timer (if necessary)
Whats better ??
Also what type of timer should i get ? (If any)


Thanks for your time and of course input !

Cheers
Stephen

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum. .

If your heater (both of them?) stays on continuously, you might be asking it for more heat than it can produce. What is your water temp and what is your goal?

We'll get to the pump later.....I didn't forget.

 

[Jeepman]

Only the 10kw heater is on continuously , the heat pump won't work as it's too cold and won't be turned on again until the weather warms up say may . Water temp I was shooting for was 85 f

 

[duraleigh]

What is the water temp now? Can you get any moreheat?

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, Jeepman

Only the 10kw heater is on continuously

No surprise it is always running. A 10 kw electric heater is a very small heater for a pool...I have a 6.5 kW heater on my 400 gallon hot tub. Of course how much heat your pool needs is a function of many things (ground temp, incident sun on pool surface, heating of the space around pool, etc.).

 

[Jeepman]

my pool is indoors inside a well built insulated building and is below ground so my solar gains are minimal . Im mostly wondering if my pump and heater should be going 24/7 or just put them on a timer or controller or something ?

 

[linen]

The problem with that small heater is that if you let the pool cool down significantly, then it will take a long time to heat it up again, as in days...so you will have to plan ahead. What temp are you able to attain consistently?

 

[Isaac-1]

I guess the question here is does your pool ever get to your goal temperature? If your heater is unable to or is struggling to get to your goal temperature then cutting down the run time on your pump will not accomplish much of anything. Having said that for summer use, when you need to add less heat to the pool a timer is an appropriate choice, but you may want one wired up with a thermostat override so if the pool is not at your goal temperature then the heater / heat pump can increase the run time until your temperature goal is met.

 

[duraleigh]

+1 what Isaac said. If you can't get to the temp you want, a timer is worthless.

What is the water temp now? Can you get any more heat?