When heating I can open/close a valve which would either force all water through the heat pump or allow 50% to bypass it. Is there a clear advantage to forcing all water through it (ie, it heats substantially faster)? I'm assuming the increased pressure is a negative for everythinig else, and if I'm going to run this for several days straight to get the whole pool heated up, I'd prefer not to impact filtration, etc.
Valve position when heating pool with heat pump
- Thread starter lurch
- Start date
For the most efficient heating, you want the flow rate through the heater to be just a little below the maximum design flow rate for the heat pump. Unfortunately, what setting on the valve will get you that flow rate is tricky to determine.
My PB plumbed my heat pump so that all water flows through it, for whatever reason...but it does heat pretty well when it's on for an extended period of time...get a solar cover if you don't have one, you'll save hundreds of bucks. 
Most heat pumps have a built-in bypass for excess flow, so if you're unable to determine your flow rate then I'd default to max flow to the heater to prevent any low flow / high pressure problems as described in this thread.