Some Simple Tips to Save Energy with Your Swimming Pool

22 Sep Some Simple Tips to Save Energy with Your Swimming Pool

Pump Settings to Reduce Electricity Costs

From Gohlke Pools

Most people don’t realize how expensive it can be to operate a swimming pool.  Perhaps the subject never comes up during the sales process of the swimming pool, or perhaps the homeowner is just too caught up in the euphoria of owning a swimming pool that they throw caution to the winds and ignore the ongoing energy and maintenance costs of swimming pools.  The ongoing electrical and gas costs can make some swimming pool owners decide to close their pools down completely.  Some popular solutions to this problem include installing new technology to manage the energy costs of operation.  Techniques like installing a variable-speed pump and motor, automatic pool cover, and automation systems can all help manage the costs of energy. Unfortunately, these items carry a significant upfront investment.  This post from Gohlke Pools provides the swimming pool owner with 5 great ideas to save energy that involve using common sense, which carries no financial upfront cost at all.

Here is an excerpt from the post:

5 Ways to Dial in Your Swimming Pool Pump to Reduce Electricity Costs

Run your pump long enough to achieve at least one full turnover per day. Depending on the horsepower of your pump and the size of your pool you can figure out what the bare minimum of pump run time would be (all numbers are estimated): ¾ HP pump – turns 4,000 gallons per hour, 1 HP pump – turns 4,500 gallons per hour, 1.5 HP pump – turns 4,750 gallons per hour, 2 HP pump – turns 5,250 gallons per hour, Variable speed pump – varies depending on set speed

Since electricity is still cheaper than algaecide, you need to run the pump when the sun is directly above the pool. If your pool is in full sun, you probably need to run the pump at least 8-10 hours per day. Sunlight is the biggest consumer of chlorine, so the pool needs to be circulating when the sun is shining down on the pool. That way the chlorine is constantly moving around the pool.

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