Hello All
I’m a first time pool owner and have searched this site and severalothers for an answer. I have also done some experimenting on my ownso I can provide some further information. I want the answer to be simple but after reading a great deal I realizethat may not be the case. I have no technicalexpertise. However, in hopes of getting some input that may help I am postingmy question. My pool and equipment arenew.
I have a Pentair Intelliflo VSF pump. This pump allows you to set RPM or GPM andreads out the watts per hour. I have a140 BTU Pentair Ultratemp Heat Pump. This pump uses 8,400 watts per hour. My goal is to determine the optimum settingfor the Intelliflo pump while using the heat pump in order to bring the pool temperatureup in the least amount of time. I havenot tested every setting but it seems I can run the pool pump at a higher RPMor GPM and it will use much less electricity than the heat pump.I realize that the answer may turn out to be more complicated than I want, but it is worth asking.
I have a 60 x 12 pool that is 4 feet deep. With the outside temperature never below 65degrees at night the pool (no cover) has never gone below 72 degrees. This is about the worst conditions and it hasbeen quite cloudy for long periods recently. Wind is not a big factor. I live in Hawaii at about 1500 foot elevation. OK…I know you don’t feel sorry for me butthis is a real question. ran the heat pump for 5 hours at 1450 RPM with the airtemperature starting at 70 degrees and going up to 74 degrees. It raised the water temperature about 1 degreeper hour. I don’t know the GPM but thisis a very modest rate drawing about 190 watts per hour.
I read a 5 year old post on this site from a Pentairengineer that suggested the best GPM to use would be 60. In order to see the watts I set one of theprograms for 60 GPM and it runs around 1375 watts per hour. I don’t know the RPMs but it runs very fast. I'd guess 3 or 4 times faster.So my simple question is this: Will the heat pump be moreefficient at this higher GPM or any higher GPM or RPM? I have a feeling I may just end upexperimenting but was trying to get an idea about how this relationship may work. With a heat pump drawing 8,400 watts per hourif I can cut that down even a couple of hours by increasing the GPM or RPM onmy pump it could be well worth it over time.
I will try to answer any questions I haven’t covered but ifthey are too technical I will probably just stare glassy eyed!
Any thoughts ideas or suggestions are extremelywelcome. By the way I am confident duringseveral months this will not be an issue but even here, during winter time if Iwant to swim at say 7 am or 8 am I need to bring this temperature up a fewdegrees. It won’t be every day butbelieve me the costs add up very quickly. Thanks in advance. With much Aloha!
I’m a first time pool owner and have searched this site and severalothers for an answer. I have also done some experimenting on my ownso I can provide some further information. I want the answer to be simple but after reading a great deal I realizethat may not be the case. I have no technicalexpertise. However, in hopes of getting some input that may help I am postingmy question. My pool and equipment arenew.
I have a Pentair Intelliflo VSF pump. This pump allows you to set RPM or GPM andreads out the watts per hour. I have a140 BTU Pentair Ultratemp Heat Pump. This pump uses 8,400 watts per hour. My goal is to determine the optimum settingfor the Intelliflo pump while using the heat pump in order to bring the pool temperatureup in the least amount of time. I havenot tested every setting but it seems I can run the pool pump at a higher RPMor GPM and it will use much less electricity than the heat pump.I realize that the answer may turn out to be more complicated than I want, but it is worth asking.
I have a 60 x 12 pool that is 4 feet deep. With the outside temperature never below 65degrees at night the pool (no cover) has never gone below 72 degrees. This is about the worst conditions and it hasbeen quite cloudy for long periods recently. Wind is not a big factor. I live in Hawaii at about 1500 foot elevation. OK…I know you don’t feel sorry for me butthis is a real question. ran the heat pump for 5 hours at 1450 RPM with the airtemperature starting at 70 degrees and going up to 74 degrees. It raised the water temperature about 1 degreeper hour. I don’t know the GPM but thisis a very modest rate drawing about 190 watts per hour.
I read a 5 year old post on this site from a Pentairengineer that suggested the best GPM to use would be 60. In order to see the watts I set one of theprograms for 60 GPM and it runs around 1375 watts per hour. I don’t know the RPMs but it runs very fast. I'd guess 3 or 4 times faster.So my simple question is this: Will the heat pump be moreefficient at this higher GPM or any higher GPM or RPM? I have a feeling I may just end upexperimenting but was trying to get an idea about how this relationship may work. With a heat pump drawing 8,400 watts per hourif I can cut that down even a couple of hours by increasing the GPM or RPM onmy pump it could be well worth it over time.
I will try to answer any questions I haven’t covered but ifthey are too technical I will probably just stare glassy eyed!
Any thoughts ideas or suggestions are extremelywelcome. By the way I am confident duringseveral months this will not be an issue but even here, during winter time if Iwant to swim at say 7 am or 8 am I need to bring this temperature up a fewdegrees. It won’t be every day butbelieve me the costs add up very quickly. Thanks in advance. With much Aloha!
