Overview

Outdoor swimming pools are big energy consumers. Pool owner/operators spend billions of dollars annually to heat the nation's pools. Much of this energy is often wasted and can be saved with proper management. Wasting energy also contributes to our growing air quality problem.  There are three pages to the fact sheet so be sure you read them all.

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SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS

One of the most cost-effective uses of solar energy is to heat swimming pools. Swimming pools require low temperature heat, which is where solar collectors are most efficient. You can use either unglazed or glazed collectors to heat an outdoor pool, however, unglazed collectors are most commonly used on outdoor pools. If your pool is operated year around and located in a cold climate region, the unglazed systems will not provide much heat in the winter, but may be more cost-effective overall because of their lower initial cost.

Glazed systems are more expensive, because they usually have black chrome-plated copper absorber plates, require the use of a non-freezing transfer fluid and a heat exchanger to transfer the solar heat to the swimming pool water.

Unglazed systems are usually made of a black plastic or rubber material and the pool water is circulated directly through the collectors. Neither system requires a storage tank. The pool serves as the storage tank.

Solar pool heating systems can provide up to 100% of your pool heating needs. They are also much simpler to install than are other forms of solar systems. The combination of a solar pool heating system and the use of a cover at night can greatly extend the length of your swimming season with minimal operating costs.

HIGH EFFICIENCY HEATERS

If you plan to purchase a conventional pool heating system, shop around for a high efficiency pool heater. High efficiency gas heating systems are available with steady state efficiencies as high as 97%. Electric heat pump pool heaters are also available with coefficients of performance (COPs) in the 6.0-8.0 range when operated in warm weather. A COP of 6.0 is 600% more efficient than an electric resistance heater.

EFFICIENT PUMPS/MOTORS

Using properly sized energy-efficient pumps and motors when replacing older pumps and motors, or when designing new pools, can significantly lower the electrical consumption of pool operating costs. Motors use many times their initial cost in electrical consumption over their life and can often consume several times their cost in the first year alone. The energy savings from an energy efficient motor can pay for itself in a very short time.