First off thanks again to everyone on this site. You have no idea how much help this place has been. I believe I've just talked myself into adding the natural gas heater. My operating costs don't look nearly as bad as I assumed. If someone would just double check my math.
I checked a recent natural gas bill and determined that I pay $0.6666/CCF. There's also a flat $20 distribution charge but lets ignore that for now. Assuming 1.031 therms/CCM, I'm paying roughly $0.69/therm.
Ted from Montoursville PA was kind enough to post his pool heating costs ($1.079/therm) so I used it as reference. (Thanks Ted!) Obviously TN is much warmer than PA but right off the bat my costs should be 36% lower than his based on lower fuel costs alone. I also came across this Link. If I use Atlanta as my reference, maintaining the pool at 80° around the clock with a cover isn't unreasonable. The more likely scenario would be maintaining the pool @ 75° and bumping the temp up to 85° Friday-Sunday and select weekdays. It looks like religious use of the cover will be mandatory.
Just for giggles I also checked my electric rates against Ted's. His $0.13/KWH is a bit higher than my $0.11 but for our usage I think the instant heat of the natural gas is a better match than the heat pump. I'm not terribly excited about writing yet another check but in this case I think the benefits are worth the extra costs. The next time I speak to my PB I'll see if he can give me a ballpark estimate for the price to hook-up the heater to our main gasline. I'll be shocked if it's over $400 since it's so close and no digging is req'd.
mx702,
I agree with your assement that adding a heater wouldn't really extend your swim season. You've probably got a quick transition between summer and fall in MA. I suspect Halloween snow isn't an entirely freak occurance there. Nashville might get 4" of snow annually and almost never before X-mas. And while it isn't traditionally swimming weather here in October, I don't even consider wearing a jacket during the day until November.
I checked a recent natural gas bill and determined that I pay $0.6666/CCF. There's also a flat $20 distribution charge but lets ignore that for now. Assuming 1.031 therms/CCM, I'm paying roughly $0.69/therm.
Ted from Montoursville PA was kind enough to post his pool heating costs ($1.079/therm) so I used it as reference. (Thanks Ted!) Obviously TN is much warmer than PA but right off the bat my costs should be 36% lower than his based on lower fuel costs alone. I also came across this Link. If I use Atlanta as my reference, maintaining the pool at 80° around the clock with a cover isn't unreasonable. The more likely scenario would be maintaining the pool @ 75° and bumping the temp up to 85° Friday-Sunday and select weekdays. It looks like religious use of the cover will be mandatory.
Just for giggles I also checked my electric rates against Ted's. His $0.13/KWH is a bit higher than my $0.11 but for our usage I think the instant heat of the natural gas is a better match than the heat pump. I'm not terribly excited about writing yet another check but in this case I think the benefits are worth the extra costs. The next time I speak to my PB I'll see if he can give me a ballpark estimate for the price to hook-up the heater to our main gasline. I'll be shocked if it's over $400 since it's so close and no digging is req'd.
mx702,
I agree with your assement that adding a heater wouldn't really extend your swim season. You've probably got a quick transition between summer and fall in MA. I suspect Halloween snow isn't an entirely freak occurance there. Nashville might get 4" of snow annually and almost never before X-mas. And while it isn't traditionally swimming weather here in October, I don't even consider wearing a jacket during the day until November.
After waiting a week+ to get his bid and then seeing his final price we were just about ready to throw out the pavilion completely but I was convinced we could pull this off.
