Which Pool Heat Pump Is Right For You?

Choosing which pool heat pump is right for you is an important decision. Many heat pumps last for more than a decade, so take your time choosing the best fit. They are a long-term investment with hardly any harmful emissions and lower operating costs than many other heating options. Having a well-heated pool can even increase the value of your property.

To put it simply—the swimming season just got a lot longer.

What are heat pump pool heaters?

Funnily enough, heat pump pool heaters don’t generate heat, unlike inefficient and harmful natural gas or propane heaters. They function similarly to an air conditioner—in the sense that ‘free heat’ from the air is used to warm the pool. How It Works: A fan pulls warm air over the evaporator coil causing the liquid refrigerant inside to heat up and turn into a gas. This gas enters a compressor, increasing its temperature. The now-hot gas exits the compressor and heads into the condenser heat exchanger. Here, the heat is passed into the pool water flowing through the other side. It all sounds quite complicated but in terms of maintenance costs, the only thing you need to really worry about is the operation of the compressor and fan motor. Now that you’ve got your head wrapped around how to heat your pool, it’s time to figure out which pool heat pump is right for you. Consider the following variables.

 

Pool Heater Size

To avoid the installation process being a complete waste of time, it’s important to buy the correct-sized heater for your pool. When sizing a pool heat pump, you need to consider the surface area of the pool and the difference between the average external air temperature and the average pool water temperature. There’s also wind exposure, humidity level and cooler night-time temperatures to consider that all play a part in pool heating efficiency. You may be asking, “well, how do you judge heating efficiency?”    

Pool Heat Pump Efficiency and Cost

When it comes to efficiency, it’s all about the COP (Cost of Performance). The more energy-efficient a pump is, the higher the COP it will boast. A COP measurement is most often taken by testing a heat pump pool heater with an external temperature of 80 degrees. If your pool is functioning well, it will typically score within a COP range of between 3.0 and 7.0. This means it’s functioning at 500% efficiency, whereas one unit of electricity is converted into 3-7 units of heat. See Also: Savings and Sizing Calculator  

Choosing a Pool Heat Pump

Investing in and installing a pool heat pump is a far more effective method of keeping your pool warm in the cooler months than using a propane or gas heater. Luckily, there is such a wide range of options available that there’s bound to be at least one suitable for any pool. There are plenty of different types of pool heat pumps available for residential homes and larger-scale projects at Aqua Comfort Solutions. If you want more information on how a pool heat pump works, explore our website’s educational resources and blog articles.