Pool house - to insulate or not?

[rynoshark]

I have a small pool house/shed, 8 x 6 feet (7 feet high) with all my equipment, electronic controls, etc. Is it worth insulating the walls of the shed to protect everything inside during minor periods of freezing? I am in climate zone 4, marine and it doesn't often get below freezing except occasionally. I put a small heater in there last weekend when temps dipped really low (my pump is disconnected right now so not running when sub freezing to circulate the water).

Strangely, I couldn't find any threads discussing insulating the pool shed!!

Thanks for any insight.

 

[PoolGate]

Insulation keeps heat in. If the space is unheated, it will help retain heat for some time, but eventually it will equalize with the outside temperature. If you are using a portable heater, that would justify the insulation. I would make sure there is a way to vent in the summer however.

 

[Pool_Medic]

Waste of money

 

[sktn77a]

Only worth insulating if you are going to have a heat source in there during freezing spells.

 

[borjis]

I was puzzled by this as well at first. I've had 2 homes with pools and in both
cases, the attached pool equipment rooms were not insulated.

I concur, no need to insulate.

 

[rynoshark]

Ok, thanks for the words of wisdom! I'll leave it alone. I had some extra old insulation, but I'll just get rid of it.

 

[wogster]

Only worth insulating if you are going to have a heat source in there during freezing spells.

Many pool pump motors will get quite warm when running, so that is a heat source. If your temps are only a few degrees below freezing occasionally, then that might be enough heat to keep the plumbing from freezing, when the pump is running. Would it be enough if the temperature was a good 10-15 degrees below freezing, unlikely, but if you get those temps, then your better to close and winterize the pool.

 

[HeyEng]

The pump does put out quite a bit of heat when it runs. Our equipment is shielded from wind pretty well (which can get pretty crazy here in Oklahoma) and I have found that a tarp hung around the area (that basically encloses it) is sufficient to keep it pretty warm with the pump(s) running. Plus with the tarp, I can remove it when it gets hot here (which again, can get pretty hot here in Oklahoma!) Also, since the OP isn't running the pump, I would think a 60 or 100 watt incandescent bulb would do a decent job of keeping it warm enough, too.

 

[jatkinson]

"Old" insulation sounds like it's already free. I'd use it.

 

[rynoshark]

Yes, I have some extra old R13 insulation ... free. Plus I do use a small space heater if it drops to slightly below freezing.

 

[eric99gt]

Why not? Use it. If anything your space heater won't have to work nearly as hard if you throw it out there.

 

[Ralph III]

Hello OP,

If you have insulation already then use it! That will help insure you have no troubles even with the coldest of winter. Otherwise, you won't be required to use a space heater when a light bulb or flood light will then suffice.

Good luck,
Ralph