How MUCH $$$ INCREASE can I expect to see on my electricty

[fudgebar]

Guys, can I ask you all what kind of average electricity bill increases you see during the months of your pool season with all these heat and pool pumps?


One of the factors I didnt even consider is how much all of this is going to impact my electrical bill during the swim season and if I will be able to even afford keeping a pool running

I am considering getting either an inground 12x24 or 14x28 pool

I live in Northern NJ

I am looking at a Heat Pump, Pool Pump, salt water chlorinator.....I think thats it.

In addition, could you also recommend some purchasing brand of pumps and equiptment that may actually really impact my electricity savings if its worth the investment?

thanks all,

Lori

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

There are too many variables - different size/btus on gas heaters partnered with pool size and if the pool is covered at nite, etc. different hp, 2 spd vs 1 spd and uprated, etc, how often folks run their system etc. different elec rates accross the country....everyone is going to have a different answer and none of them may compare to where you end up because every pool can be unique in some characteristic or another.

Lori, building a pool is a bit like diving into the deep end for the first time. I think it's great that you are asking so many questions and trying to gather as much info as possible, but you may not be able to get every answer you seek or find the reassurance you are looking for before you leap, KWIM?

 

[Bama Rambler]

The best thing you can do is prepare for the worse and hope for the best.

A variable speed pump is going to be very efficient but it costs more to buy. If your electric rates are high it may be a good investment.
A 2-speed pump is the next best choice. This is what I highly recommend. Though I have a single speed pump I'll never own another one.
A heat pump vs. a gas heater is supposed to be more efficient but that depends on how you use it. And remember you can always turn that off to save money.
On the SWCG buy a bigger cell than needed. About 30% bigger is a good place to start.

I personally prefer Pentair pumps etc, but that's what I have. I'd recommend staying with a major mfg just for the ease of getting parts and service. Whatever is plentiful in your area will affect your choice.

 

[mynewpool]

You could also check and see if your electric company has balanced or average billing. This can help offset some of the cost by paying a fixe rate each month or having it adjust a little each month to compensate for the higher months. They do this so you do not have a huge bill at the end of the term.

 

[flyweed]

I can give yhou my numbers. I have a 200,000 btu heater....holding my temp at 83 degrees...June was very cold here in the Midwest..my gas bill was $360.00 for June...normally it's about $55.00 a month in the summer...my electric bill in the summer with the AC going is around $80-90....and now with the SWG and my 1.5HP pump running 24/7 my bill for electric the last two months has been around $170.00 a month.

So you can see it does change things quite a bit for a large pool

 

[geekgranny]

After putting in a variable flow (or speed) pump and not running the Polaris booster (which needs to be run minimum 10 hours a day with our environment) I'm seeing $250-$300 reduction in my spring/summer electric cost, all other things being some what the same. We are all electric. No pool heater. Pool does best, and easiest to manage (balance and water clarity) running pump on low speed 21/7 (19 gpm). Two other factors that have helped is upgrading the DE filter from 36 sq ft to 80 sq ft and replacing all pipes at pumping station from 1.5" to 2" and removing way too many elbows and connectors from 23 years of taking out and putting in things. Pipes to and from pumping station still 1.5". Before putting in the new pump and filter, early Spring 2010 (and the other changes), I had to run the old, one speed pump, 2.23 SFHP, almost as long as I run the new VF pump. My new pump and filter, pool open year round, will pay for themselves in less than a year in electric savings. The up front cost of a variable speed/flow pump is more but it is really nice to be able to make adjustments to get the flow just right, using least electricity. At the 19 gpm, with adjustments to the return eyes, 19 gpm gives enough flow to the Pool Skim, run the little add on fountain about 3 ft rise, and two additional returns with slightly reduced eyeball hole sizes. If I want the fountain to go higher or get more flow to the Pool Skim, to clean surface debris very fast, I can manually up the speed for whatever time wanted. For vacuuming the speed can be upped for what ever time needed. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my VF pump and Pool Skims? :lol:

Sorry I can't tell you what an increase use would cost but we've always had a pool and spa for 24 years we've lived here.

gg=alice

 

[geekgranny]

I'll add that my all electric bill has never been below $300; no gas. That is going back a couple of decades. As prices have risen and house occupancy has reduced, I've been able to close off the whole upstairs so that has reduced the heating and cooling cost. Each year for past 10 years I've done many other things to reduce electric use but pool and spa have been steady use until new pump and filter. Years ago when I started taking measures to reduce electric use the first month the bill was less than $400 the electric company came out and checked the meter.

It gets really hot here in Texas and can get pretty cold at times during winter. Until about 10 years ago it was not unusual to have a couple of electric bills, in summer, right around $1000 and one or two, in winter, around $700. But in past three years, along with other things I've done, we have two new high SEER AC condensers and the big furnace downstairs was replaced but it has been at least three years since those were done.

Last couple of summers have been somewhat cooler than normal here. That is far less consecutive days at or above 100 and some nights occasionally getting below 80. I think my highest electric bill for hottest part of summer, last year, was around $600, with the upstairs closed off (I keep it at about 85 F) My current electric bill (mid June to mid July), with new pump and filter, is just a little over $300 and I'm running the converted garage, wall AC, this summer. I didn't run it last summer.

Both the old main pump and pressure cleaner booster pump were killing us. BTW.... most people don't need to run their pressure cleaners as long as ours but I know a lot of people here who run them at least 6 hours a day.

The cheapest to run cleaner, which is a big consideration if have to run a cleaner a lot, is going to be a robot, like Aquabot and others. They use very little electricity. They are more hassle, though, if you have a lot of debris, mainly because of the weight of the 'bot taking it out of water to change out or clean out the filter bag.

gg=alice