Pump run times and speeds.... am I running it way too much?

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G

gocubs418

Well-known member
May 3, 2016
401
Dallas/TX
Hi,

I am taking a hard look at my electricity and from what I calculate, the pump is running my around $300 a year to run.

Cleaner: 2 hours a day @ 3450 RPM or 2440 Watts or 2.4 KWH for a total of 4.9 kwh per day.

Spa: .5hr a day @ 3450 RPM = 1.22 kwh per day

Pool: 9.5 hours @ 1500 RPM or 192 Watts = 1.8kwh per day

After you do the math, you get to a total kwH of ~250 kwH per month or $25 dollars a month or $300 a year.


Is this overkill? The big drain is the cleaner, 60% of my kwH usage. Does the cleaner need to run the pool at 3450? Could I lower the cleaner and raise the pool to compensate? Maybe from 1500 to 1750?


Just had a $300 electric bill so trying to ease the pain coming with this hot summer.

Thank you

Edit: I do have a Booster Pump so I am probably definitely wasting money by running the VSP that high.
 
Arizonarob said:
Drop that 3450rpm down to 2600-2700rpm. No need to run full blast on your pump.
Click to expand...

Thanks. For both Spa and Cleaner? I was thinking of dropping the cleaner down to 1750RPM, SPA down to 2250

Do I ever run my pool at full pump speed or only when I want the speed? I was thinking maybe use full RPM when I am using the spa with the heater on.

What RPM should I target when I heat the pool and/or spa?


I just changed my schedule to this:

Pool: 9.5 hrs @ 1600RPM
Spa: .5hrs @ 2250RPM (not sure I need it this high still)
Cleaner: 2hrs @ 1750 RPM

Drops my kwH from 250 a month down to 100 kwH, saving $15 dollars per month off my bill or $180 yearly.

My concern is keeping the SWCG going to keep the pool clean. I never really have a ton of debris.
 
Personally, I’d never run that pump anymore then 3000rpm for the spa. I even bumped my 5 min prime on startup from 3450 to 3000.
There’s no need ever to run that pool at full speed. You only have a thousand gallons more then I do, and look at the schedule I posted for mine.
 
I agree with the 3000 rpms that is the highest I ever run mine. Look at the chart below and see how much savings you have going from 3450 to 3000. Almost 50%!

vsp_costs.jpg
 

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Before getting a robot (which is awesome) my suction cleaner would work just fine with my 2 speed pump on low speed. The beauty of a VS pump is that you can certainly fine tune even more. However its not the pool thats draining the electric bill...

We adjusted the ac in the house down 1 degree (nest thermostats work well), don't do laundry during peak hours, pool pump is off during peak hours (unless in use), keep the fridge closed!
 
ctrav said:
Before getting a robot (which is awesome) my suction cleaner would work just fine with my 2 speed pump on low speed. The beauty of a VS pump is that you can certainly fine tune even more. However its not the pool thats draining the electric bill...

We adjusted the ac in the house down 1 degree (nest thermostats work well), don't do laundry during peak hours, pool pump is off during peak hours (unless in use), keep the fridge closed!
Click to expand...


Good point on the pool off during peak hours! Yes, my A/C is 65% of my electric bill, definitely need to get that in check, but I can definitely run the pool outside of peak hours.
 
No offense but $25/month to run the pool seems really cheap to me. I track usage as closely as possible with smart devices, spreadsheets, schedules, dimming, yelling (three kids never turn anything off), etc. and I would call $25/month to run my pool a win.

I like waterflow so I just spent a bunch of money on a variable speed pump to replace my single speed that I already had on a janky 8 hour per day schedule. My electricity is more than yours at 13.3 cents per kWh so even better for you.

Frankly I know a lot of people are swapping their cleaners for robotic cleaners to save energy costs but if you’re running the whole month with a booster and regular pump that high for that low of a cost, I don’t even see a reason for you to swap that.

From what has been posted in this thread it sounds like you should dial back your full speed times a few hundred RPM to save a nice percentage but beyond that, it seems like maybe you’re splitting hairs.
 
Keith I had the "Pool Cleaner" and it did a decent job. Just love the robot so much more. I have my old cleaner boxed up as a backup...

PVN020wDark.jpg
 
Certain states have very low electricity rates. Are you accounting Delivery and Supply Charges as well? I am closer to $.16 cents per kilowatt for both. My pump, single speed operates at 230 volts and consumes 9.7 amps. Based on the Kwh conversation, I am at 2.231 Kwh per hour. My consumption is $0.36 per hour (Unless I figured out something wrong).

First few years, I ran the pump 12 hours. Now, I am down to 8 hours and comfortable with this one. The heat pump has to run a little longer and is way less than consuming natural gas. At 8 hours, my 30 day average is $86.40.

The heat pump is a biggie, with 25.57 amps at 230 volts or 5.8811 Kwh, almost 3x the pump. Although, the heater will run only about 2 hours in July and August, while September, more in line with about 4-6 hours. This baby runs $0.96 per hour.
 
Captchaos said:
No offense but $25/month to run the pool seems really cheap to me. I track usage as closely as possible with smart devices, spreadsheets, schedules, dimming, yelling (three kids never turn anything off), etc. and I would call $25/month to run my pool a win.

I like waterflow so I just spent a bunch of money on a variable speed pump to replace my single speed that I already had on a janky 8 hour per day schedule. My electricity is more than yours at 13.3 cents per kWh so even better for you.

Frankly I know a lot of people are swapping their cleaners for robotic cleaners to save energy costs but if you’re running the whole month with a booster and regular pump that high for that low of a cost, I don’t even see a reason for you to swap that.

From what has been posted in this thread it sounds like you should dial back your full speed times a few hundred RPM to save a nice percentage but beyond that, it seems like maybe you’re splitting hairs.
Click to expand...

No offense taken, $25 a month is EXTREMELY cheap in my opinion as well. However, my A/C are pieces of junk and I need to offset my rising electricity bill somehow, that means taking the low hanging fruit.

At the end of the day, wasting money is wasting money, be it $1 or $1000.

And to be honest, I paid a ton of money for this pool (energy efficiency one of the reason), you better believe I want to squeeze every penny out of it.
 

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