Does a heat pump work in the San Diego area?

[Conky64]

Hello Everyone --

We live in San Marcos, CA (approximately 35 miles north of San Diego) and want to extend our pool season a few more months (start April 1st/end Nov 30). Our pool is currently heated only using solar panels/solar cover, but I am considering installing a secondary heat source. We are on propane and just had a 9.3 kwH solar electric system installed. I've always heard that using a gas or electric heater is extremely expensive. In light of this, I've been considering purchasing a heat pump for our small, in-ground pool (11K gallons and no spa).

The problem I'm encountering while researching heat pumps is I can't find a definitive answer on how they perform in the SoCal climate. Temps at our house reach triple digits during the summer, but I was told by several pool professionals that a high outside temperature isn't the key to a heat pump performing well...it also requires high humidity levels.

I'm hoping there are TFP members (living in SoCal) who are willing to share their experiences with heat pumps. Any information/advice would be appreciated.

Conky

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

See what the Pentair HP calculator says about your location. I think it will work fine As long as the air temp is above 50F and you run your pump most of the time so the HP can generate heat.

Heat Pump Calculator

See how much you could save by switching to one of our pool heat pumps in just three easy steps. Use our Pool Heat Pump Calculator to see your savings today!

www.pentair.com

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I would think it would be ideal in your locale. We had one in Virginia Beach.... they work best in warmer climates to begin with, IMO.

Maddie

 

[ckendalls]

Heat pumps (heat exchanging) doesn’t work as efficiently in dry climates which is why they use more evaporative cooling (heat pumps in reverse) in desert climates. Not sure about your specific location but dryer climates would generally need a larger heat pump and would need more power (electricity) in comparison to a more humid location.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Thankfully for the OP, San Diego is kinda humid being near the sea.

 

[bdavis466]

Unless you have enough PV panels to power the heat pump it will never be cost effective.

I assume you have SDGE which has the highest electric rates in the nation?

Heat pumps need to run a long time to maintain heat and even longer to bring the water up to temp. Pentair's ultra temp draws 50 amps which is more than even the largest air conditioners but you also have to include the pump run time as well.

The other problem is that southern California can get very hot during the day but gets relatively cool in the evening which makes even more run time for the heat pump.

I feel your pain, I don't think our pool ever gets above 75 degrees... the ocean is warmer than that during the summer?. The bottom line - there's a reason no one has heat pumps around here...

This last summer as a joke I had my kids swim in their wetsuits. They ended up loving it and now won't go in the pool without one on.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Really, Brian?? I'm quite surprised by what you said. I had no idea heat pumps would pull so much juice.... would that be more expensive there than natural gas? In many areas of the country electricity is obscenely costly, thankfully other areas not so much.

Could also explain the shortage of solar installers in my area....?

 

[bdavis466]

Natural gas is almost dirt cheap here and most areas but the rural ones have it. For the ones that don't have gas, I think propane might still be cheaper than the electricity for a heat pump.

 

[bdavis466]

Our lowest rate is $0.26/KWH and that tier is almost impossible to stay in if you use any sort of electricity. The next tier is $0.36/KWH and is probably where most people fall. If you exceed that, the rate is $0.54/KWH plus you get slammed with a excessive use charge that I think they just bill you whatever random number they want.

A heat pump running 12 hrs a day drawing 40amps would cost $1700 for the month

 

[panic_button]

I just had my Pentair Ultratemp 120HC installed last week. I am at 12.2¢ KWh. To get my 20K pool from 58° to 84° with an average outside temp of 58° last week it took 37 hours. Based on drawing roughly 5KWh (actual draw right at 4300w), it cost me right around $25 to heat the pool and at $3-$5 to maintain that temp per day. Neighbor has a propane MasterTemp and this December he's at over $900 heating his pool/spa.

 

[Leebo]

Natural gas is almost dirt cheap here and most areas but the rural ones have it. For the ones that don't have gas, I think propane might still be cheaper than the electricity for a heat pump.

In our area power is dirt cheap so the comment above really isn't true. For us we average roughly $150'ish-$200 a month increase in our power bill using both the pool pump and the heat pump. This keeps the pool at roughly 85° from around June until the kids go back to school in late August.

 

[bdavis466]

In our area power is dirt cheap so the comment above really isn't true. For us we average roughly $150'ish-$200 a month increase in our power bill using both the pool pump and the heat pump. This keeps the pool at roughly 85° from around June until the kids go back to school in late August.

Sorry, I was referring to southern California- San Diego County specifically not the rest of the states... after all the thread title says San Diego