We're in the process of bidding out a backyard in the Phoenix metro. I've been a pool owner using TFP since 2006 up north, but our pools up here are built different than down south. We are building both a pool and spa. Spa will spillover into the pool, and they will share equipment. Pool / Spa are about 24K gallons.
HEAT:
I've had multiple builders give me differing opinions on heating. We primarily use the AZ residence in the winter as a winter home, so we need a heater. I've heard heating pools down south in the winter can be $1k / month using gas without a solar cover. This seems crazy considering our pool up north in ND is 88 degrees and our gas bill is about $50-$90/month, but we have an autocover and that makes it far more efficient. Some builders are saying NG, some are saying NG is too expensive to heat / maintain a pool, and with the spa requiring higher heat we'd need a NG heater for the SPA and a heat pump for maintaining the pool without spending a monthly fortune on keeping it warm.
I see 3 options here, and I'm wondering which is the best:
CLEANING:
We're considering a paramount in-floor cleaning system. We need something that will keep the pool clean while we are not there, and when we are there, we don't want to spend our first days cleaning out the pool. This looks to be about a $8k - $10k option.
PUMPS:
I'm a believer in variable speed pumps (IntelliFlo) - they pay for themselves, and it's always easier to do this during the initial build. It seems all of the builders price out WhisperFlo single-speed units and use timers. Current proposal has 4 pumps, non of which are variable speed:
Here's one of the potential designs:
Any other feedback?
HEAT:
I've had multiple builders give me differing opinions on heating. We primarily use the AZ residence in the winter as a winter home, so we need a heater. I've heard heating pools down south in the winter can be $1k / month using gas without a solar cover. This seems crazy considering our pool up north in ND is 88 degrees and our gas bill is about $50-$90/month, but we have an autocover and that makes it far more efficient. Some builders are saying NG, some are saying NG is too expensive to heat / maintain a pool, and with the spa requiring higher heat we'd need a NG heater for the SPA and a heat pump for maintaining the pool without spending a monthly fortune on keeping it warm.
I see 3 options here, and I'm wondering which is the best:
- Single 400K BTU NG heater
- Single 400K BTU NG heater AND a separate Heat Pump
- Pentair UltraTemp ETi Hybrid Heater / Heatpump
CLEANING:
We're considering a paramount in-floor cleaning system. We need something that will keep the pool clean while we are not there, and when we are there, we don't want to spend our first days cleaning out the pool. This looks to be about a $8k - $10k option.
PUMPS:
I'm a believer in variable speed pumps (IntelliFlo) - they pay for themselves, and it's always easier to do this during the initial build. It seems all of the builders price out WhisperFlo single-speed units and use timers. Current proposal has 4 pumps, non of which are variable speed:
- 3 HP WhisperFlo pool recirculation pump
- 2 HP WhisperFlo booster pump for spa jets
- 2 HP Silencer blower pump
- 2 HP WhisperFlo pump for Paramount in-floor cleaning
Here's one of the potential designs:
Any other feedback?