North Texas Pool Temps in July/Aug

[joboo7777]

Fellow North Texans,

This is my first summer season coming up and I'm afraid to ask this question. How hot should I expect the pool to get? My pool has a lot of exposure to the south and west and gets direct sun for most if not all afternoon.

Thanks

 

[woodyp]

Welcome to the surface of the sun! It can climb to 95 water temp in late July and all of August. All sorts of ideas on here for cheap and homemade pool "chillers". Aeration is the key.....mostly at night....but watch your ph.

 

[737mech]

It will depend upon how many 100 degree days in a row we have. Our has been in the low 90's.

 

[joboo7777]

Got it. So plan for a 15k gallon spa. Wonderful, terrific.

 

[JJ_Tex]

We get afternoon shade, which really helps keep our temps down. Last year ours never went above 88 degrees, which was perfect. Of course if you have full sun you likely will be swimming before me and after me so its kinda a wash. Mine is 67 degrees right now if that helps for reference.

 

[joboo7777]

We get afternoon shade, which really helps keep our temps down. Last year ours never went above 88 degrees, which was perfect. Of course if you have full sun you likely will be swimming before me and after me so its kinda a wash. Mine is 67 degrees right now if that helps for reference.

Yea I'm at 70 so not too much different. But because I have strong soutwest direct sun exposure I think I'm going to see 90's easily once the July-Aug Sun is here. Maybe 95. Wife is talking about some sort of canopy that can be installed. not sure I'm on the same page with that approach but since she is the boss I may have to.

 

[convan23]

Definitely following this! Building 15k gal pool, facing south with no shade anywhere near. Already have tons of aeration posts bookmarked.
One thing I wonder - are the heat pumps with a chill setting any good for pools here?

 

[joboo7777]

Definitely following this! Building 15k gal pool, facing south with no shade anywhere near. Already have tons of aeration posts bookmarked.
One thing I wonder - are the heat pumps with a chill setting any good for pools here?

I did see a few posts on chillers. Glacier chillers seem to work well as there were a few people in north Texas running them. I just don’t want to spend another $2500 on my endless money pit.

All kidding aside, sitting in my spa right now. It definitely is a worth while money pit.

 

[HermanTX]

Got it. So plan for a 15k gallon spa. Wonderful, terrific.

In summer of 2020, my pool temps where 95 or slightly higher on several days. The wife really enjoyed it. It is not terrible if you have been working in yard and need to "cool" off. I always make sure I have that beer nearby in a nice Koozie.

 

[Dtkokay]

Definitely following this! Building 15k gal pool, facing south with no shade anywhere near. Already have tons of aeration posts bookmarked.
One thing I wonder - are the heat pumps with a chill setting any good for pools here?

I'm in Houston and have a heat pump with chiller function. The chiller is "okay." It will drop the pool by a few degrees overnight, on top of what the pool would naturally cool. The downside of the heat pump is that it's basically a giant AC with the compressor running the entire time, so the electric draw is large and continuous when in use.

It costs rough $0.60 per hour, which may not sound like a lot, but that's around $5 per over night use. Times 30 days in a month, and that almost equals my regular electricity bill.

The flip side is that I didn't have to buy a separate chiller. So I saved some upfront costs but have to pay for higher electric costs. If I had to do it over, I'd probably do a separate gas heater and chiller.

 

[RMcGirr83]

We've been in the 90s. Wife thinks the low 80s are too cold.

 

[convan23]

Not to sabotage this thread - but since we are building, would it be worth adding deck jets or something that we can run for cooling the pool? I was planning on building something like shown here Cooling A Pool - Further Reading I’ve heard from several people how well these work to cool the pool.

But didn’t know if there was something we could just have built in to the pool? It seems the builders usually aren’t familiar with cooling a pool this way and I assume most deck jets don’t create small enough droplets of water to cool it as effectively as some of these DIY options.

 

[Dtkokay]

Not to sabotage this thread - but since we are building, would it be worth adding deck jets or something that we can run for cooling the pool? I was planning on building something like shown here Cooling A Pool - Further Reading I’ve heard from several people how well these work to cool the pool.

But didn’t know if there was something we could just have built in to the pool? It seems the builders usually aren’t familiar with cooling a pool this way and I assume most deck jets don’t create small enough droplets of water to cool it as effectively as some of these DIY options.

Personally, I would put that money towards a dedicated chiller rather than deck jets. I’ve tried various ways to cool my pool (aside from my heat pump’s chiller), and none of them were very effective.

 

[joboo7777]

In summer of 2020, my pool temps where 95 or slightly higher on several days. The wife really enjoyed it. It is not terrible if you have been working in yard and need to "cool" off. I always make sure I have that beer nearby in a nice Koozie.

Yea, probably Much ado about nothing. Going to ride it out the first year then make adjustments if needed.

 

[joboo7777]

Well my pool has reached 80 the past few days. And I must say it still Feels cold!! I am getting old.. Lol I’m definitely not worried about it reaching 90 in the dog days of summer.

 

[Oly]

A couple or three sail shades high over the pool during and after the summer solstice keeps water temps from getting too warm and reduces the need for sunscreen.

 

[joboo7777]

Pool temp of 83 today. And the climb begins

 

[HermanTX]

Temp is stabilized in high 80's (87-89 F). Even hit 90 F in late afternoon. Summer has been delayed but surely showing up now in Houston area.

 

[joboo7777]

Just hit 90 today. and its only been about a week of scorching heat.

 

[jark87]

We were out of town last week, finally visiting our grandson after more than a year! When we left, air temps were still in the 80s and our pool temp was in the mid-70s. Came home to 100° and pool temp of 87°. Started up our chiller for the first time. Pool only cooled down to 81° due to the humidity, but as long as I can keep it no hotter than mid- to upper-80s, I’ll be happy.

We added the chiller several years after building the pool. Best investment I’ve made in pool equipment, as we now enjoy the pool all summer. We have the evaporative type of chiller, like a swamp cooler, so it’s not expensive to run like a heat pump with a chiller option. Prior to the chiller, our pool water would hit 95° around July 4 and that was pretty much the end of the swim season. I had tried everything, from pool misters to sail shades. Misters would provide a slight overnight cooling, but water temp would rise back to the 90s during the day. Plus, the mist would blow into the landscaping, which damaged quite a few plants. Sail shades didn’t do much, as they only really provided shade when the sun was directly overhead. Any angle would allow sunlight to hit the pool. And my wife hated them.