Impending Construction, Heater advice requested

[conniegal]

Hi All,
Joined TFP recently and have learned So much! Have above ground pool but planning inground pool construction soon. My sister recently completed pool nearby and her PB advised against heater, said would only add 2 weeks at beginning of season and 2 weeks at end of season and would cost thousands of dollars. I realize heating the pool will cost additional but since will be investing such substantial amount anyway, thought heater would really add lot more time to amount of time that we could enjoy the pool.

Was wondering about the experiences of the people here and what you guys recommend. Heater versus solar blanket? We live in Jackson, Louisiana. Thank you so much for any advice offered. You guys are wonderful!

I truly have learned so much here

 

[Pool Tool]

Heater use/need is dictated by personal preference more so than anything else. Do you want to be able to use the pool for those few extra weeks and spot heat the pool when necessary during the season? If that is worth the cost that go ahead, if not save the money I guess. But you are right seems like a minor cost compared to the pool as a whole. Solar collectors are another option that might help as well. I live in the north and the pool would be used a lot less without the heater.

And think of the solar blanket retaining the heat vs. creating the heat. The solar blanket will lessen evaporation which is the main reason the pool cools, but it will not noticeably warm the water. Blankets are a little annoying to use, but make a huge difference holding the heat and help from your water evaporating.

 

[conniegal]

Thanks Pool Tool for your response. I guess my main question is whether the heater will extend our pool season or not. Thanks again for any help.

 

[Pool Tool]

Yes, it will extend your season for as long as you are willing to run the heater and spend the money on the fuel. A gas fired pool heater is similar to a gas furnace in a house. At some point, when the temps drop enough it may not be able to keep up or just simply cost too much. But for me, again in the north, having the option of being able to turn the heater one when I want to warm the pool is well worth it. Nothing worse than having a beautiful pool that's too cold to swim in.

Here is a link with some estimated costs and useful info.
Gas Swimming Pool Heaters | Department of Energy

The pb may have been referencing a heat pump, which is different than a pool heater. A heat pump "pulls" heat out of the air to warm the water. Heat pumps cost much less to operate but only work efficiently when ambient temps are high. That might correlate to the 2 weeks before and after the swim season the pb mentioned.

 

[blbncsu]

I would suggest you get your pool pre-wired or setup at least to possibly accept a heater, its a marginal cost when all the other major work is being done. We installed our heater one year after having our pool and getting a feel for how warm we liked the water temp and how the pool water felt during early/late season.

That way after a year of experience we knew we would use our heat-pump to heat the pool in conjunction with a solar cover to extend our season a good amount. It also helps to spot-heat the pool during those rare or odd cool/rainy summer days.