Hi,
I am interested in getting a new pool pump to save on electricity. I have found very little real information on how to choose a pump, except for Mark's excellent posts and spreadsheets. I'm learning some from them, but I have a couple of questions at this point. I am trying to figure out which pumps are adequate for my pool and most efficient. The pool pump tools spreadsheet calculates my return head at 27.5' which is similar to other ways I calculated it. My plumbing corresponds to curve C. To look at efficiency and lifetime cost, I am using the Energy Cost sheet. I entered a target turnover of 1/day. I entered the same RPM values for all the pumps I am trying to compare (3450 high and 1725 low). Is this a fair comparison?
With these settings, The TriStar VS 1.85 URHP, MaxFlo 0.75 URHP, and MaxFlo VS 1.5 URHP pumps are the least expensive (monthly and lifetime) pumps that I have investigated for our pool. I am just not sure if my comparison method is correct; I think it might be underestimating the efficiency of VS pumps. Also, I am wondering if there's a way to calculate my present pump's efficiency on the spreadsheet. I was going to try to enter its data on the pump data sheet and add the links, but I don't have much of the data.
As a side note, I have also looked at the CA energy commission's energy factors for pumps, which are a standardized measure of W/gallon moved. However, the flow rate in the ratings varies tremendously, and it ranges from 13-16 GPM for the 7 most efficiently rated pumps. Since this flow rate is way too low for my pool, I am not sure if these ratings mean anything for my application.
I am interested in getting a new pool pump to save on electricity. I have found very little real information on how to choose a pump, except for Mark's excellent posts and spreadsheets. I'm learning some from them, but I have a couple of questions at this point. I am trying to figure out which pumps are adequate for my pool and most efficient. The pool pump tools spreadsheet calculates my return head at 27.5' which is similar to other ways I calculated it. My plumbing corresponds to curve C. To look at efficiency and lifetime cost, I am using the Energy Cost sheet. I entered a target turnover of 1/day. I entered the same RPM values for all the pumps I am trying to compare (3450 high and 1725 low). Is this a fair comparison?
With these settings, The TriStar VS 1.85 URHP, MaxFlo 0.75 URHP, and MaxFlo VS 1.5 URHP pumps are the least expensive (monthly and lifetime) pumps that I have investigated for our pool. I am just not sure if my comparison method is correct; I think it might be underestimating the efficiency of VS pumps. Also, I am wondering if there's a way to calculate my present pump's efficiency on the spreadsheet. I was going to try to enter its data on the pump data sheet and add the links, but I don't have much of the data.
As a side note, I have also looked at the CA energy commission's energy factors for pumps, which are a standardized measure of W/gallon moved. However, the flow rate in the ratings varies tremendously, and it ranges from 13-16 GPM for the 7 most efficiently rated pumps. Since this flow rate is way too low for my pool, I am not sure if these ratings mean anything for my application.