Pool Heating

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rydergillen

Member
Apr 30, 2019
13
Elk Grove, CA
I have been looking into different heating solutions for my pool. Some option such as gas seem quite expensive both in equipment and monthly cost.

Since I live in California and the winters are relatively mild I have been considering using the following strategy.

- use a pool cover to keep generated heat in pool
- use (or similar - I like the small compact size compared to a big electric heater) Raypak E3T Digital Pool Electric Heater | 18kW 61,419 BTU | Titanium Heat Element
- I have solar power so running the electric heater is 'cheap' since I have enough solar power generated to cover the increase.


Any feedback if this will have the desired effect... I want a usable pool from Feb - Oct. The low end of the outdoor temp is about 60 during the coldest months (Feb/Oct.)
 
How large is your pool? 61k BTUs is small barely enough to heat a large hot-tub. And when you say you have enough solar power to cover the generation, what does that mean? If you don't use the power for a heater, will the power be sold back to the grid? If so, then looking at it as "extra" power is a false sense of economy. But realistically, a heater that would heat your pool probably needs to be on the order of 150k BTUs. With your temps, a heat pump would be ideal.
 
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rydergillen said:
I think my pool is around 15k gallons... there is a 92k BTU model I could get instead. The heat pumps take up a large amount of space (this is somewhat an issue)
Click to expand...

92k is better but you'll need to be religious about putting on the solar cover when the pool is not in use or you'll lose more heat at night than you gained in the day. Also I would expect that heater to run non-stop to maintain anything close to swimming temps of mid-80s.
 
A 27 kW pool heater will require about 120 amps of power. Most likely installation requires 3 50 amp 240v breakers. Doesn't leave much else for the rest of your house.

92k BTU will add about 0.75 degrees of heat to your pool per hour. Assuming you only lose a couple degrees of heat a day you'll probably run it 3-5 hours per day, consuming 81-135 kWh of power. I doubt you've got a solar array that's providing that kind of juice.
 
I have a 400a panel
You are right about my solar array... I could always expand it.

My biggest challenges are

1) no gas line near the pool equipment.
2) space is an issue (a heater usually requires 2' clearance on front, 1' clearance on sides)

Given these constrains I am unsure what my alternatives are.
 
Anytime your home’s AC runs, it can heat the pool water, for free basically. Here in Texas, we’ll run the AC sporadically all through fall, so it would be perfect. Not sure about your area though.

If you end up getting one of those smaller tankless heaters, something like this in addition to it could make up for the shortfall.
 
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