Heat Pump vs Gas Heater New Build

[Newpool2021]

I have tried understanding this and I just cannot grasp it so I'm hoping someone on here can explain it in layman's terms for me. I'm currently having a new pool and spa built in North Florida and I have included in my project a 400,000btu gas heater for the 7ft circle spa and I was told it could heat the pool a couple of degrees too with the oversized spillway from the spa to the pool. I don't have gas currently so I will have to get that separately which i've been quoted around $3,000 for a 250g underground tank filled with propane. My question is, does this make sense to do or should I just buy an electric heater that will heat both the spa and pool, if that's even a possibility as in the winter it can get into the 30s-40s sometimes at night? From what the PB said, even in that cold of weather the spa could get hot with the gas heater quickly. The pool is 15x30 in the largest spots as it's freeform style, 3.5ft to 5ft to 3.5ft sports style and the permit it says it's a 10,600 gallon pool but I am not certain if that is correct or not. Please help as from what I'm gathering propane is not cheap and if an electric heater could do both I think that makes most sense? Thank you for any advice in advance!

 

[HermanTX]

It would be best if you can obtain the specs of each unit to determine what is best for you. The spec should provide an estimate as to how long it will take to raise a temperature x degrees for a given volume of water. The is usually found on the sales literature or in the manual. It can be a chart showing x temperature increase per hour or something similar.

In a spa you want a heater that can quickly heat the spa (when in Spa Mode i.e. no spillover to the pool). For a pool, you may need several hours. Traditionally, a gas heater works best to heat quickly such as raising temperature of 20 degrees in 30 mins for 600 gal spa (example only as estimating the capacity of your 7ft dia spa). A electric heater may take a couple of hours - but so much is dependent on the specs of the specific unit so difficult to provide a clear response. It also comes down to what you want, i.e. do you wish to heat your spa quickly or can you wait some length of time? What is your cost of electricity vs. cost of propane. Also, my knowledge is with natural gas so the actual performance of a heater using propane may be somewhat different.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Being more specific in your profile on your location in Florida would be helpful to give you an answer as Florida has many different climates.

These may be helpful...

Pool Heaters Explained

What good is clear water if the water temperature is to cold to enjoy it? We've answered some questions and provided simple tips to understand pool heaters.

www.troublefreepool.com

How to select pool equipment - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

These tools can help you estimate your costs to heat...

Raypak Gas Pool Heater Sizer
Raypak has a Gas Pool Heater Sizer. It tells you the Temperature Rise/Hr and Natural Gas and Propane costs to heat a pool in your local area to selected temperature by month. Adjust the natural gas cost and propane cost in the lower left to your local gas prices for accurate costs.

Heat Pump Calculator
Pentair has a Heat Pump Calculator to determine the appropriate size Heat Pump for your location. Pentair seems to do honest calculations based on the physics and efficiencies of each type of pump and energy source.

Raypak also has a Heat Pump Heater Sizing App.

To get the most accurate cost comparison you should change the default electric kwh, natural gas price, and propane price to actual prices in your area.

 

[Newpool2021]

Welcome to TFP.

Being more specific in your profile on your location in Florida would be helpful to give you an answer as Florida has many different climates.

These may be helpful...

Pool Heaters Explained

What good is clear water if the water temperature is to cold to enjoy it? We've answered some questions and provided simple tips to understand pool heaters.

www.troublefreepool.com

How to select pool equipment - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

These tools can help you estimate your costs to heat...

Raypak Gas Pool Heater Sizer
Raypak has a Gas Pool Heater Sizer. It tells you the Temperature Rise/Hr and Natural Gas and Propane costs to heat a pool in your local area to selected temperature by month. Adjust the natural gas cost and propane cost in the lower left to your local gas prices for accurate costs.

Heat Pump Calculator
Pentair has a Heat Pump Calculator to determine the appropriate size Heat Pump for your location. Pentair seems to do honest calculations based on the physics and efficiencies of each type of pump and energy source.

Raypak also has a Heat Pump Heater Sizing App.

To get the most accurate cost comparison you should change the default electric kwh, natural gas price, and propane price to actual prices in your area.

Thank you so much for these calculators!

 

[Newpool2021]

It would be best if you can obtain the specs of each unit to determine what is best for you. The spec should provide an estimate as to how long it will take to raise a temperature x degrees for a given volume of water. The is usually found on the sales literature or in the manual. It can be a chart showing x temperature increase per hour or something similar.

In a spa you want a heater that can quickly heat the spa (when in Spa Mode i.e. no spillover to the pool). For a pool, you may need several hours. Traditionally, a gas heater works best to heat quickly such as raising temperature of 20 degrees in 30 mins for 600 gal spa (example only as estimating the capacity of your 7ft dia spa). A electric heater may take a couple of hours - but so much is dependent on the specs of the specific unit so difficult to provide a clear response. It also comes down to what you want, i.e. do you wish to heat your spa quickly or can you wait some length of time? What is your cost of electricity vs. cost of propane. Also, my knowledge is with natural gas so the actual performance of a heater using propane may be somewhat different.

Thank you for the quick insight! The propane gas heater would be Jandy JXI Pool Heater 400 #JXI400P but I don't see any good chart information the website.

I have not inquired about which specific electric heat pump, so I'm not positive, but I would like the highest btu option which looks to be the Jandy 2500T or 2500T3 which both are max 110,000btu.

The going rate for propane here is $3.68 a gallon and electricity is $0.06988 per kWh.

Would you say if I wanted to heat the pool, my best bet is a heat pump and the spa is the gas heater? For example, say it's 55 outside and the spa is 60 degrees because it hasn't been on in a few days and it's been cold outside, a heat pump would take many hours and a lot of electricity to kick that up to 100 degrees, right? And I'm sure to heat the pool with gas is insanely expensive based on the cost per gallon.