New Pool, New to TFP and a $1000 power bill!

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U

up2nogd

Member
Oct 2, 2021
8
Charleston
Pool Size
25000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Turbo Cell (T-CELL-5)
Hello All!
Well I finally bit the bullet and installed a 20 x 40 in ground pool. So excited until I received my 1st power bill ... $950.00 ... $700 more than normal!! Then the 2nd $963.00, 3rd month etc.. After contacting power company isolated the problem as the Heat Pump. Pool manufacturer installed the Aqua Cool 166ARDSBPR. The unit was auto set at 85. July was hot, August was Hot, September wasn't that bad. Is this normal? " I hope not"!! I've read many responses from other pool owners and this seems excessive. I contacted Aqua Cool and the technician came out and said everything was working as it should??? At $1000 a month I'm thinking a few loads of dirt and it all goes away!! Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
** Another note: A Haywood controller was also installed (that has had problems) which will not communicate on both heat and cool.
This has been a disaster!! Pool Life is not what I was thinking it would be!!
 
Good lord! Well, first off, welcome to TFP..... you win the high cost utility prize for the year! I'm further south than you and my bill is *no where* near those bills of yours.

Is your pool set to run 24/7? Is the cooler constantly "on"??
Do me a favor and make out a <Signature> line under the <Settings> option. Describe your pool, its finish, all your equipment, how you sanitize and test, ect. This helps us a LOT to "picture" your pool and answer you.

Maddie :flower:
 
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YippeeSkippy said:
Good lord! Well, first off, welcome to TFP..... you win the high cost utility prize for the year! I'm further south than you and my bill is *no where* near those bills of yours.

Is your pool set to run 24/7? Is the cooler constantly "on"??
Do me a favor and make out a <Signature> line under the <Settings> option. Describe your pool, its finish, all your equipment, how you sanitize and test, ect. This helps us a LOT to "picture" your pool and answer you.

Maddie :flower:
Click to expand...
I think he'll be winner of the decade. Poor guy better get that figured out.
 
20x40 Rectangular
Gunite Finish
2.7 hp Haywood Pump
Haywood Controller
Led Lights
Aqua Cool Heat Pump
Full Cover ( Used Extensively)

Nothing Crazy!!
My Power Meter looks like Chevy Chase on Christmas Vacation! Problem is everybody involved is pointing fingers and I'm paying the bill!
 
Wire,
Exactly what we did. The problem has been isolated to the Heat Pump. I guess my question is ... what is normal expense for a heat pump?
AquaCal is saying operating as normal. Pool manufacturer is non-commital .... I'm reaching out to see what everybody else is paying for using their heat pump.
I can't imagine Pool Owners are paying $700 per month for this!
 
Something else is going on. I would share this with MFG.

12 hours per day run. You say "medium." Specs on the HP (Specs) say 6.6 kW input.

E(kWh) = kW ⋅ h = kWh

E(kWh) = 6.6kW ⋅ 12h = 79.2kWh / Day

Monthly Total = 79.2 kWh / Day * 30 days = 2,376 kWh

Charleston Rates (residential) .1364 /kWh (Charleston Rates)

2376 kWh x $.1364 = $324

Do you have and know how to safely use a clamp meter? If you can get it around one of the 240v legs to your pump while it is running to get the amperage and calculate the usage (Watts (or kW if you divide by 1000) = Volts x Amps (from meter). That may help diagnose if the machine is using more than spec.

I'm assuming it is a 240 circuit. Do you know the size of the breaker on the circuit?
 
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To reverse the picture:

$800 / month = .1364 /kWh * 27,859 kWh

27,859 kWh / 30 days = 928 kWh / day

928 kWh / day / 12 hrs = 77 kW input.

77 kW / 240v = 32 amps. If you had a 30 amp breaker, the unit would not run.

Do you know your electricity rates? Not sure if the rates I used included the cost of the electricity AND the delivery rates. Where I live, by usage rate is about .06 and the delivery is about .06. what is your actual rate? (divide the bill total $ by the total kWh usage to get your actual *delivered* rate).

Hope this help troubleshoot!
 
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According to @poolstore $324 was for 12 hours/day. If for some reason it's really running 24 hours then you're not too far off from the earlier mention that the bill was $700 more then what was normal I guess before the use of the HP.
 
How much of an increase do most people see after installing a pool / heat pump? I just can’t imagine a $700 bump is acceptable? I will provide power details later today. I appreciate all the help!!
 
How warm is your pool in July without the heat pump? Mine is pretty comfortable. If I need a fraction or two drop in temp I turn a fountain on overnight and let it help cool the pool.

I'm not far from you and would only use the heatpump for spring and fall swimming. The chiller might not get used but one or two days a summer.

Maddie :flower:
 
Yippee,
We were up to around 87/88 and rising! Turned the chiller on and that is when things got crazy!! My pool is 100% in the sun, zero shade. Figured things would average out when the temps dropped but the bills just keep coming!
 
I found some info with this brochure. https://www.aquacal.com/wp-content/uploads/AC-1495-HWSQ-60Hz-English-Brochure-V4.8.pdf
In one review on Aqua-cal's site they said it uses 7.6 kW to raise a 12,000 gallon pool 1 degree. No mention of how much to cool the water.

I would invest in a few strategically placed sun sails to provide some shade and keep the water temp down. I imaging the cooling aspect is much less energy efficient than the heating function.
 
I'm not too far away from you and I can tell you that to run my pump and SWG 12 hours a day costs me an additional $1 a day.

You are adding $25 to $30 a day...something's really wrong.
 
U,

It looks to me that your unit is running 24 hrs per day not 12. Can you please verify that it's not running when it's supposed to be off?

Chris
 

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