Pool heat pump

[mitchtr25068]

we have an I ground 16x32 pool in upstate New York with a solar heat system, but we're also thinking about adding a heat pump. Anyone out there with one? Any advice on brands,many ease of installation, as well as ongoing issues.? Thanks

 

[theoldwizard1]

Do you have AC in your house ? It is possible to plumb a heat exchanger to the the compressor and use it to heat the pool.

This does NOT work well for adding additional swimming days at the beginning or end of a swimming season in the midwest/northeast.

 

[kd3pc]

we looked at heat pumps, but added a natural gas heater...it works well and is efficient and affordable. Neighbors went with an electric heat pump and it knocks the chill off, but really does not add much heat to the pool, it runs full tilt and they say adds a lot of $$ to the monthly bill.

A lot of the ongoing costs depend on the siting (shaded?) of the pool and how much/how close to rock the pool is.

 

[doan]

Gas pool heaters are 400,000 BTU. About 4 times bigger than a normal home furnace. A heat pump or electric heater doesn't have near the capacity and either would cost more to run than a gas heater.

 

[rieferman]

We have an electric heat pump for our 10,000 gallon above ground pool (15 x 30 oval). Coupled with a solar cover that we put on the pool when not in use, we easily extend the season and have a pool that people actually want to swim in all summer long when other pools are still chilly. We keep our pool in the low 80's from May 1st until September 31st.

As with a home heating/cooling heat pump, the pool heat pump is very efficient to run - a couple hours raises the temp about 5 degrees and doesn't overly impact our electric bill. Since we religiously use a solar cover as well, we generally don't have to run the heat pump other than early season and late season.

The model we have also has the option of cooling the pool down during the hottest part of the summer when the pool can be too warm to enjoy. We don't use it often, but there are times when this is a wonderful feature to have.

It's been awhile since we researched, but from what I remember, we learned that natural gas was faster to heat a pool, but that an electric model had fewer maintenance issues over its lifespan on average, and has the ability to cool the pool, and is easy to install. YMMV for an in ground pool, but this has been great for our above ground.

edit: As with any system, properly sizing the unit to achieve the results you desire is critical.

 

[earlybirds]

We have a Heat Siphon heat pump for our above ground pool. Our pool is only 12 ft. across and holds about 4000 gallons of water. As stated above, we also keep our solar cover on when not using the pool. Our heat pump has been in use for 7 years, and will raise our water temp 3 degrees per hour. It has been maintenance free. We keep our pool at 90 degrees F so we can actually USE THE POOL COMFORTABLY. Cost to run is about a dollar a day. Love it!

 

[Bob-B]

We have a heat pump on our 26,000 gallon in-ground pool. There is no natural gas on the property so it was either a heat pump or an oil burner. The heat pump works fine for us, but we also use a solar cover when the pool is not being used and cover the pool every night to keep the heat in. Our pool get full sun now and I've been thinking about adding a solar heater now that the last big tree is down. We've had the heater for 5 years with no issues.

 

[jkwilson]

For best pool equipment advice, try troublefreepool.com

Many smart people here, but probably slimmer on pool related knowledge than a forum exclusively about pools.

 

[6768rogues]

I rented a house in Florida that had a heat pump pool heater. Even with Florida's mild temps, it only added a few degrees to the water as it passed through the heater. I would not have one where I live in western NY because it would have little effect on water temp and they use a lot of electricity.

 

[yeldogt]

I have a 22x 44 pool 10' deep --- with a 400k NG heater ... it will raise the 50k gallons of water in the pool about 1 degree per hour.

The problem with a big pool and HP's is they don't have enough capacity to raise the temp fast ... If you want to maintain the temp all the time a HP will do the job.

 

[dlhindiana]

My parents just bought a refurbished heat siphon heat pump for a 24' round above ground pool. Pool was 61 on Monday and 84 yesterday. only ran it during the day. Seem to be doing well. Not sure what it will cost to run though. Other neighbors pool with no solar cover on and no heat is still in mid 60's.