Built Right Heat Pumps First Impression

[athflying]

We have owned our home for about 4 years now and the pool is original with the house about 16 years old. There is a screened in lanai, so even in S FL the pool temp rarely went over 84 and that is in the middle of summer with 92+ days and little rain. Our prior house had solar heater and no cage, so was able to keep the temps up year round and as a result we definitely got more use out of it. I had been kicking around different heat pumps vs solar for quite awhile and decided we only live once, get the heat pump and have near full control over pool temp. I researched quite a bit and there is a company local to me Built Right that seemed to be the best buy for the money and warranty (5 years). When searching the forum, I didn't see any posts mention them, so wanted to leave this initial review. I spoke to a few different installers and nothing but favorable things to say. I got a few estimates ranging from $3700-4800 for the install without the electrical work (additional $850). I chose my installer based off timeliness and communication, as well as fairly close proximity (he was great if you live in Sarasota, FL and need a recommendation, happy to share his info).

My experience with Built Right was great. I had some questions about which model to choose, I called and within minutes was on the phone with one of their techs that have been their for 15+ years. He spent well over 15 minutes explaining the variables that go in to heating and offered a recommendation based off our pool setup. The heat pump was delivered 2 days later and within a couple hours was humming away. While it's very early to say long term, the initial buying experience was great and so far we have a warm pool.

 

[mknauss]

Sounds great. Thank you for the review. Be sure to add it to your signature.

 

[Nshuck93]

We have owned our home for about 4 years now and the pool is original with the house about 16 years old. There is a screened in lanai, so even in S FL the pool temp rarely went over 84 and that is in the middle of summer with 92+ days and little rain. Our prior house had solar heater and no cage, so was able to keep the temps up year round and as a result we definitely got more use out of it. I had been kicking around different heat pumps vs solar for quite awhile and decided we only live once, get the heat pump and have near full control over pool temp. I researched quite a bit and there is a company local to me Built Right that seemed to be the best buy for the money and warranty (5 years). When searching the forum, I didn't see any posts mention them, so wanted to leave this initial review. I spoke to a few different installers and nothing but favorable things to say. I got a few estimates ranging from $3700-4800 for the install without the electrical work (additional $850). I chose my installer based off timeliness and communication, as well as fairly close proximity (he was great if you live in Sarasota, FL and need a recommendation, happy to share his info).

My experience with Built Right was great. I had some questions about which model to choose, I called and within minutes was on the phone with one of their techs that have been their for 15+ years. He spent well over 15 minutes explaining the variables that go in to heating and offered a recommendation based off our pool setup. The heat pump was delivered 2 days later and within a couple hours was humming away. While it's very early to say long term, the initial buying experience was great and so far we have a warm pool.

Glad to see more info about these coming out! I've been looking at them for 3 months now but haven't pulled the trigger. About to order one this week. How much did you pay for just the heater and install? Also did you snag the 135k one?

 

[athflying]

I actually did the smaller one. I chose it as it fit better in the area it is in, runs more efficiently so theoretically cheaper to run, and was more than large enough to heat my small pool. I don't have the large to compare to, but so far it has been great. Since we have had it.....we have been keeping the pool at 88. I do keep a solar cover on and typically lose 2-3 degrees overnight. I paid just under $4k for it and the install, plus $800 to have electric run. We absolutely love it and have gotten more use out of our pool in the last month than we have in last 3 years.

 

[Nshuck93]

I actually did the smaller one. I chose it as it fit better in the area it is in, runs more efficiently so theoretically cheaper to run, and was more than large enough to heat my small pool. I don't have the large to compare to, but so far it has been great. Since we have had it.....we have been keeping the pool at 88. I do keep a solar cover on and typically lose 2-3 degrees overnight. I paid just under $4k for it and the install, plus $800 to have electric run. We absolutely love it and have gotten more use out of our pool in the last month than we have in last 3 years.

We have the same size pool, I'm 10k gal as well. You have no issues with the smaller pump making enough heat? I did see the smallest pump has a higher COP so that would definitely help keep the bills down. Have you had your first electric bill with the heater added yet? If so how big was the increase? I also use a solar cover when the pool is not being used

 

[athflying]

I am only just over a month in, but FPL you can see daily usage and the costs. Looks like it added about $30-40 this past month to run. As it gets cooler, I expect that to go up....at some point we will most likely turn off, haven't figured that out yet. I figure as long as it's in the 80's outside will let it run..... not sure what most people in S FL do...does anyone run it all year? seems like could get a bit expensive the weeks we are in the 60-70's.

If you have any reservations about the smaller pump, give Built Right a call. They were extremely friendly and happy to explain the differences. From our conversation, he said "roughly" all other things being equal...the smaller pump will heat around a degree an hour vs 1.2 an hour of the bigger pump. There are so many variables (outside temp, humidity, wind, etc) that it's hard to get concrete info but he assured me that the smaller pump would easily keep our pool heated and so far it has. The upfront price difference is pretty negligible and without actually running both on same pool for a given amount of time, not sure you would ever know the difference in energy costs between the 2. My decision was partially cosmetic so that the heat pump fit behind a small fence that hides my equipment and there assurance it would do just great for my 10k gallons.

 

[TampaKathy]

Glad to see more info about these coming out! I've been looking at them for 3 months now but haven't pulled the trigger. About to order one this week. How much did you pay for just the heater and install? Also did you snag the 135k one?

Did you get this heater? I just had a pool built and quickly realized not getting a heater was a mistake, lol! I have Pentair equipment but the Pentair heater is on backorder until May from what I've seen so I am considering getting something else.

 

[athflying]

If it helps still happy with mine.

Actually just today it seemed to not be heating, called Built Right and a real person answered the phone....did 30 seconds troubleshooting and determined needed a service call. Had that scheduled a few seconds later for this Wednesday. While it's disappointing it needs to be serviced, I was very impressed to get a service call scheduled two days out in less time it takes to get through some companies phone tree.

 

[guyinsarasota]

I actually did the smaller one. I chose it as it fit better in the area it is in, runs more efficiently so theoretically cheaper to run, and was more than large enough to heat my small pool. I don't have the large to compare to, but so far it has been great. Since we have had it.....we have been keeping the pool at 88. I do keep a solar cover on and typically lose 2-3 degrees overnight. I paid just under $4k for it and the install, plus $800 to have electric run. We absolutely love it and have gotten more use out of our pool in the last month than we have in last 3 years.

Hi. I am also in Sarasota and interested in the Built-Rite Heat Pump. I have a pool 9000 gallon pool. Do you still recommend the BR115XW? Have you had any issues? Is it quiet? Can I ask who installed it since I would like to use a local company?
I appreciate your reply.

 

[guyinsarasota]

If it helps still happy with mine.

Actually just today it seemed to not be heating, called Built Right and a real person answered the phone....did 30 seconds troubleshooting and determined needed a service call. Had that scheduled a few seconds later for this Wednesday. While it's disappointing it needs to be serviced, I was very impressed to get a service call scheduled two days out in less time it takes to get through some companies phone tree.

What went wrong? Did they fully fix and honor warranty? labor?