Hi. I live in southern New Hampshire. We have a gunite 31k gallon inground saltwater pool about 1 year old with a 400k BTU propane heater. The cost to heat the pool with propane on anything other than occasional basis is absurd. For most of the summer the pool temp hovered in the mid to high 70s, occasionally above 80 during a hot spell. There is direct sun only 4 hours per day. If I go to one of the heat pump manufacturer’s website and put in my info including state, it says, for example, that I could maintain 82 degrees with a heat pump from mid May through Oct 15 for about $1000 in electricity, with a comparable cost of $6000 by propane. This caught my attention. My question is, does anyone feel that this is realistic? Can I really maintain 82 degrees in the beginning of Oct when it gets down to 50 at night and maybe 70 during the day? Or are these numbers nonsense? Thanks.
Electric heat pump vs propane in New England
- Thread starter Ciaschin
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,405
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Did you go to:
www.pentair.com
Propane is high cost. To have a HP effectively heat you need to run your pump 24/7. A HP generates a small amount of heat over a long period of time. HP's efficiency declines as the temperature drops and it shuts down at about 50F.
Your signature does not list the type of pump you have. I don't think the calculator includes the electrical cost for the pump running 24/7. And I don't know what your current pump run time is or electrical cost.
With propane you are guaranteed to be able to heat your pool to the desired temperature regardless of air temperature.
With a HP it may or may not be able to give you as much heat as you want. If you get a cold spell the HP may not be able to generate enough 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!
Propane is high cost. To have a HP effectively heat you need to run your pump 24/7. A HP generates a small amount of heat over a long period of time. HP's efficiency declines as the temperature drops and it shuts down at about 50F.
Your signature does not list the type of pump you have. I don't think the calculator includes the electrical cost for the pump running 24/7. And I don't know what your current pump run time is or electrical cost.
With propane you are guaranteed to be able to heat your pool to the desired temperature regardless of air temperature.
With a HP it may or may not be able to give you as much heat as you want. If you get a cold spell the HP may not be able to generate enough heat.
Electricity in NH is some of the most expensive in the country and bulk propane in NH can normally be found at a reasonable cost. Most people heat their entire home in NH with less than 2000 gallons of propane at maybe $4000 max with a bulk tank, including my large house there, I can't imagine using $6000 worth for heating a pool! Are you certain all $6000 of fuel is being fed to the pool heater? Maybe an insulated cover would help to minimize heat loss and save you some energy/money?
The first thing that needs to be done is to estimate the amount of energy required for the season (BTUs) and the maximum heating demand (BTUs per hour). Probably the best way to do this is to calculate both using your exiting heater. You know your propane seasonal use and probably even monthly use based on your history. You could see how large a heat pump you'd need to meet the maximum demand and you could figure-out the cost of electricity from there knowing your electricity rate and the heater specifications. Propane heaters are available with very high outputs and meeting your October requirements is likely reasonable. I don't know about the heat pump, they tend to be rather low capacity.
The first thing that needs to be done is to estimate the amount of energy required for the season (BTUs) and the maximum heating demand (BTUs per hour). Probably the best way to do this is to calculate both using your exiting heater. You know your propane seasonal use and probably even monthly use based on your history. You could see how large a heat pump you'd need to meet the maximum demand and you could figure-out the cost of electricity from there knowing your electricity rate and the heater specifications. Propane heaters are available with very high outputs and meeting your October requirements is likely reasonable. I don't know about the heat pump, they tend to be rather low capacity.
Those Kw calculators may not tell the whole story. We are on Long Island in NY and my taxes, fees and ‘power and delivery surcharge’ more than double my Kw charges each month. If we go shopping for new appliances, the stores all have those yellow tags with our local prices per Kw and a yearly estimate of usage. But they are Kw only and we know to double the estimate due to the surcharges. Plus all the appliances (or pool heaters) are tested like new cars for their MPG rating to get the best rating possible. Real world results rarely match the factory tests.
It's true that delivery costs and taxes are about half the cost of electricity in NH. In running potential energy use cost it's best to simply take a recent electricity bill and divide the cost by the actual number of KW used for that month to get a rate that can be used for projected costs.
Thank you all for your replies. The Pentair calculator was more informative than the calculator I used from another manufacturer.
You are correct. Heat pumps are best when left running full time, or shut down at night when ambient air is below 55. Gas can heat a pool up way quicker but forget about it and leave it running and watch the Washington’s fly out of your wallet like moths to a light bulb.
Best of both worlds imo, solar panels with back up gas. You will use the gas sparingly for those shoulder season days when the solar panels aren’t at the right angles to capture full potential of sun or those cloudy days before a nice weekend.
Best of both worlds imo, solar panels with back up gas. You will use the gas sparingly for those shoulder season days when the solar panels aren’t at the right angles to capture full potential of sun or those cloudy days before a nice weekend.