costs to run heat pump

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outdoorsgal

LifeTime Supporter
Jan 24, 2015
943
Phoenix, AZ
I went in on Hayward's website and used the calculator to estimate how much it would cost to heat my pool with a heat pump. I first put in april through october. I then changed it and said just april and october. I would have thought the costs would have increased for october because if i had been heating my pool in september it would not need to be heated as much in October, so I guess their calculator is limited. It also said it would cost me almost $30/mth to get my pool up to 80 degrees in July and August. I entered my Phoenix zip code, so it obviously doesn't seem to know the average pool temp in Phoenix. Noone would need heat their pool to get to 80 as it's much warmer than that and people complain about pools being too hot. (I never feel it's too hot).

It was also interesting that they didn't ask for depth of pool but when I called they asked for gallons to tell me which heater would be best for us, not surface area. I didn't understand his theory and he told me they couldn't help everyone who called, that's why they have the website. wierd.

so, I still feel as though I don't know how much a heat pump would cost to heat my phoenix pool to extend my season a bit. Is anyone able to give any info on what they pay?

one thing I saw, though, that was interesting to compare was the cost of it being uncovered and covered. Again, I dont' understand their site cuz it says $158.74 for four months covered and $715.65 uncovered. but then they said april would cost $192.20, may $140.12, june $86. 12... and so on. I put in the criteria being that I didn't have a cover.

maybe pentair has a better calculator?

thanks!
 
I would not trust any manufacturers calculator for anything ... but that is not much help to you :mrgreen:

Heaters are expensive to run. And the cooler the are, the less effective a heat pump is. A cover is by far the most effective at retaining heat, especially at night with out high evaporation rates.

I would suggest looking into solar as well, I have no cover with solar mats. We were swimming in 80 degree water in March this year.
 
jblizzle said:
I would not trust any manufacturers calculator for anything ... but that is not much help to you :mrgreen:

Heaters are expensive to run. And the cooler the are, the less effective a heat pump is. A cover is by far the most effective at retaining heat, especially at night with out high evaporation rates.

I would suggest looking into solar as well, I have no cover with solar mats. We were swimming in 80 degree water in March this year.
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I was just coming on to say that Pentair's calculator was cut almost in half. Either their equipment is more efficient, I'm doing something wrong, or someone is wrong. they were both pretty close with being a good $150/mth in April and October, though.

I have thought about the solar, rings and the blanket, but I was told heat pumps work well in Phoenix to extend the season and aren't $. to me $150 for a month is more than i really want to spend however, I'd be tempted. So far, I don't even know how much they cost to get installed, so that may make me negate the idea, too.

I was told solar won't work for my size pump and in-floor cleaning. i've been told solar doesn't last out here.

as far as the solar mats, I figured that's what I was going to do, but I need to look into it more. they seem to have mixed reviews. We'd have to get a storage shed just for those I supposed. a blanket seems like it'd need it's own small storage shed, too and wouldn't be easy taking off of a 40' x 12' pool by myself daily for a few minute swim and we get scorpians, black widows, brown recluse spiders, crickets... that'd be a safe haven for them. I'd have to remember to be careful when using it but I'm not the kind of person who uses gloves when moving bricks or gloves/goggles when using acid... I've also heard blankets don't last. i'll have to continue researching all 3. i know people really do like blankets, too, and even with the #s on the calculator for the heat pump, it shows how much it does make a difference.

for now, i shut off my automatic refill and will use a black hose to fill pool. not ideal and i'm thinking i wont' see a difference but while i'm cleaning the tiles with acid i figured i'll do it for now. thx!.

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Jason, btw, i see u live in Tucson. sorry, i should've checked first. I looked up solar mats and see two different things. could u pls describe what yours r? thx!
 
I mean the solar mats/panels on the roof. Not something you would float in the pool.

My DIY with used panels (I bought up there) ran me about $1500. To go new with warranty and install would be $5k+
 
Not either of those. I mean solar panels (but not the PV electrical ones ;) )

That little black mat would be a waste of money and the little rings/mats that float on the pool do not work well.
 
I averaged about 75 - 100 a month to run my pool from June to now. Water temp was set for 85. If we werent in the pool the solar cover stayed on. Heat pump is on a timer and only runs when the sun is up.
 
jblizzle said:
I mean the solar mats/panels on the roof. Not something you would float in the pool.

My DIY with used panels (I bought up there) ran me about $1500. To go new with warranty and install would be $5k+
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i've been doing a bit more looking around, especially on youtube, before responding. mostly what i see r the solar systems built with poly tubing. it's interesting that folks say they can get 10 degrees out of one 100 ft line of black polytubing. some people attach a solar panel and the water coming out is really hot. i found one solar panel, without the drip tubing and it seemed to be complicated, big, but was sold by a company. how many panels do u have? i was hoping for something that would be on the smaller side. i even saw what looked like a portable heat pump. portable sounds good to me! i dont' want a whole roof of solar and the companies who sell solar seem to show pics of the whole roof but the DIYers seem thing say 100 ft of plastic drip tube or copper pipe is good enough. If I were to do solar I could do the side of my house, but I think it'd only get a few hrs of sun. I'm not sure if that'd be enough. I could probably feel ok about sticking 2-3 panels on my roof, north facing, but not a whole roof full in my case. do u have any pics to share or can u describe your system more? thx!
 
CJadamec said:
I averaged about 75 - 100 a month to run my pool from June to now. Water temp was set for 85. If we werent in the pool the solar cover stayed on. Heat pump is on a timer and only runs when the sun is up.
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i moved from MA to Phx in part to seek out the sun and warmth. how much would u say you are raising temperature with the heat pump? It's in the 60s at night and 80s/90s in the day lately? will it be too $ for you to run it in October? thx!
 
With the solar panels listed in my sig, pics in link in sig, I can get 4 to 8 degrees increase in pool temp on a sunny day. Without a solar cover I lose 2 to 6 degrees pool temp at night. Nobody is increasing their pool temp by 10 degrees with a 100' hose. I added an 8 mil solar cover this spring and the temp increase in my pool water was significant because I kept the daily gain from the solar panels and reduced the loss overnight to 1-2 degrees. My pool quickly jumped to over 90 with highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid-60s.

I would try an 8 mil solar cover before anything else. If you want to do research on solar panels I bought mine at solardirect.com.
 

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The black poly tube rolls on the roof don't work economically, and the people claiming they do on youtube have faults in the way they are measuring temperature. The simple fact is commercial built panels beat poly tube home built solar heaters in every way from reliability to cost of operation to cost per BTU generated. Solar heat is all about surface area of the panel exposed to sunlight, and flowing massive amounts of water, this topic comes up every couple of weeks and the math always comes out the same, the only way home built solar might even come close is if the tubing was free, and you have a massive excess of space to install it.
 
pooldv said:
With the solar panels listed in my sig, pics in link in sig, I can get 4 to 8 degrees increase in pool temp on a sunny day. Without a solar cover I lose 2 to 6 degrees pool temp at night. Nobody is increasing their pool temp by 10 degrees with a 100' hose. I added an 8 mil solar cover this spring and the temp increase in my pool water was significant because I kept the daily gain from the solar panels and reduced the loss overnight to 1-2 degrees. My pool quickly jumped to over 90 with highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid-60s.

I would try an 8 mil solar cover before anything else. If you want to do research on solar panels I bought mine at solardirect.com.
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there seem to be so many factors. your panels are under a tree, right? they don't get full sun all day? your pool pebble is darker than mine. I live in phoenix. I don't know much about TX but I imagine it's sunny but humid which has a factor, too. R the #s u r giving during anytime of the year or only the ends of the season?

how much space would u say your solar blanket takes up? i think i'd have to put up another shed just for that. :(
 
Isaac-1 said:
The black poly tube rolls on the roof don't work economically, and the people claiming they do on youtube have faults in the way they are measuring temperature. The simple fact is commercial built panels beat poly tube home built solar heaters in every way from reliability to cost of operation to cost per BTU generated. Solar heat is all about surface area of the panel exposed to sunlight, and flowing massive amounts of water, this topic comes up every couple of weeks and the math always comes out the same, the only way home built solar might even come close is if the tubing was free, and you have a massive excess of space to install it.
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I used to have an aquaponics system and I actually did the 100 ft of poly tube, so the fact that I was falling for it, again, is even more ridiculous. Mine leaked a bit, though, and I am still wondering if the ones that are hooked up to a small solar panel could work. from what i'm hearing here, no it wouldn't since the polytube, even if put behind a piece of glass would have a similar effect to the solar panel? like this one: Solar Hot Water Heater / Pool Heater Project Update With KVUSMC - YouTube I'm not really clear on how these work but I'm interested in the ones behind the glass.

If I went with solar it would have to not be connected to much plumbing, so maybe even the one I shared on youtube wouldn't work well for my in-floor system, although I could just count on brushing more when needing the heater, which the pool gets less dirty the times of year when we would need a heater, anyway. I look forward to comments on this particular set up. I don't understand how solar works and just know there seem to be the kinds that the water runs through and panels, which I suppose make electric which would heat up a tiny heater or something to then heat up the water? thx!

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jblizzle said:
Thank you Isaac, exactly what I was about to say.

I have 500 sq ft of Helicol panels. That is 10 panels.
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my house is 1600 square feet. i guess it'd take up a good portion of the back of my roof. i liked the little panel the guy had on the ground next to his pool. i'm sure u've all seen those ideas before, too? in the video the guy seemed to measure the water temp for a while. maybe after a couple of minutes, though, it stops coming out of the return hot?
 
outdoorsgal said:
there seem to be so many factors. your panels are under a tree, right? they don't get full sun all day? your pool pebble is darker than mine. I live in phoenix. I don't know much about TX but I imagine it's sunny but humid which has a factor, too. R the #s u r giving during anytime of the year or only the ends of the season?

how much space would u say your solar blanket takes up? i think i'd have to put up another shed just for that. :(
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My panels are under a tree but it is strategically pruned and most of my panels have sun most of the day. All panels are full sun from 2 or 3 to sunset. Half of the pool square footage is a general starting place. My solar is 240sf and my pool is about 700sf and it adds a lot of heat to my pool. If you have a good south or west facing roof any amount of solar panels will add heat to your pool.

My solar cover is cut in half and I can fold it and roll it into 2 rolls about 4' long and a foot in diameter. I stand them up in a corner. Getting the thinnest 8mil cover is helpful.

Measuring the water temp coming out of the hose isn't what you are looking for. 24 hours measurement of increased pool water temp is what is important. i.e. Pool was 82 degrees at noon yesterday and is 86 degrees at noon today.
 
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