Energy Savings Running Pump at Different Times?

[VikingPoolMan]

I have a single speed 1HP pump on my pool... I looked online at energy charts that show the cost of electric at different times of the day (currently, between 1pm - 6pm, its the most expensive to run electric). Therefore, I used timer pins to skip around that time of day (I run my pump 2 hours before 1pm and 2 hours after 6pm ... and 4 hours at night). *An added benefit for me is my solar system doesn't over heat the pool. In any case, this is not a new idea and I wanted to hear from people that have done this (or have control boxes that do this for them). Does it really make a big difference in energy savings (I haven't done it long enough to find out for myself)? Also, how would it compare to simply running a variable speed pump 8hrs/day? I've had a few customers that just don't like the low RPM of the variable speed pumps.

Would like to hear from people that have tried this (pros and cons)... or people that have switched to variable speed pumps. Thanks!

 

[atttech-2]

Well the math is simple and it sounds like you have done that so you should already have a fairly good idea what the savings will be. no question a VS pump would use a lot less and save on energy cost but again it is a math problem cost of the pump vs reduced electrical usage. The payback on a VS pump is longer than a 2 speed. If your rates are $0.15 per kwh or higher 4 to 5 years for the VS vs 2 years for the 2 speed. As for the low speed being a problem the only time that might come into play is with the solar or if you have an SWG. For water turnover and skimming my pump uses just over 100 watts an hour 5 hours a day and another 45 min for cleaning with a booster pump at around 2500 watts at 0.16 kwh. I love my VS pump and would do it again but generally the 2 speed makes more financial sense.