Electric versus Gas Heaters

[CJadamec]

Most heat pumps are still operating at a COP of around 3 even when the weather conditions are less than ideal which still puts them at 300%. I have delivered electric rates of around 0.15 per KW and it's still very reasonable to keep my pool around 85 all season.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The point of my original reply wasn't to touch off a debate about electric versus gas but to simply point out that BOTH cost AND functionality are critical to the decision making process.

I have a neighbor with a heat pump on her pool and the builder talked her into it with a totally bogus set of reasons (more efficient than gas, gas heaters fall apart after a few years and can't be repaired, gas is dangerous and requires an expensive professional installation, etc, etc). She has natural gas in the house with a gas water heater and forced-air gas heating same as everyone else on the block and pays the same for gas and electric as everyone else. We live in AZ so there's no need to maintain heat over the summer...pools stay hot here all summer long without any heating necessary. She has an attached spa like mine and only really uses the heater for spot applications. We both hate pool covers and so neither of us try to extend our swimming season beyond what mother nature allows. But, because she did not know the difference between the two and the energy costs involved, the PB talked her into a more expensive product that she's stuck with and that costs her a lot more money to operate than a gas heater would (not to mention she's also stuck with an in-floor cleaning system she hates and her pool was built with a single speed pump...the worst of all possible equipment options.)

Moral of story - do your homework and know all of your options.

 

[Sandia]

Wow, Thanks!
We do have gas, but the run between the pool and the meter has now been covered in cement, so don't really want to dig that up!
Also, Mom will only go in the pool when it is over 85 or 90, so need to keep it warm from now until at least November. I suspect I may be able to turn the heater off in July/August, but, she really likes it warm...
I will be getting a bubble cover, although the thought of putting it on and taking it off every day makes me tired, (lol) at least it is only a small pool

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Wow, Thanks!
We do have gas, but the run between the pool and the meter has now been covered in cement, so don't really want to dig that up!
Also, Mom will only go in the pool when it is over 85 or 90, so need to keep it warm from now until at least November. I suspect I may be able to turn the heater off in July/August, but, she really likes it warm...
I will be getting a bubble cover, although the thought of putting it on and taking it off every day makes me tired, (lol) at least it is only a small pool

Thanks for the update.

Have you considered solar heating at all? Even a small array (typically 1.5X pool surface area is recommended) could supplement the heatpump to help keep the pool warm. In order to run it into November, you will definitely need a bubble cover. Try to find a good place to store it and consider getting a reel system if you can fit it in. You'll only need the cover until about mid-May or so and then again in late-Sept/early-Oct. You will likely not need to heat the pool at all in July & August with only minimal heating in June & Sept. If you can install solar, then you might be able to get away without using the heatpump much at all.

 

[Cindy_H]

Does this thread apply to spa heaters too? We would like to keep our 1000 gallon spa at 102 year round in San Diego and are also getting electric solar so are thinking we'd like to covert to an electric heat pump. Thoughts on how much energy a heat pump would actually take to run year round?