How To Choose The Best Swimming Pool Heater For Your Pool
Every spring swimming pool owners look forward to the day their pool water will be warm enough for swimming. The water warms during the warm spring and fall days but cools again in the longer chilly nights. It may take a month or more before the water is warm enough for a pleasant dip. But what if you could lengthen your swimming season by several weeks, or even several months? The good news is: you can, by installing a swimming pool heater.
In the spring and autumn months and in areas with cool summers you can warm the water in your pool with a pool heater. Considerably more heat is lost from above ground pools since they do not have the earth to insulate them and add warmth from the soil. An above ground pool is especially susceptible to heat loss due to the exposed sides..
There are three main types of swimming pool heaters to choose from.
Natural gas / propane pool heaters are most popular because of their fuel efficiency. Most models can be ordered for either natural gas or propane. A popular natural gas / propane heater is the Jandy LXi heater. Gas heats more water faster (a few hours instead of a few days) and is the best choice where water needs to be heated more than a few degrees, for example, during cool months and if you are heating a spa. Gas heaters are thermostatically controlled to save even more energy. They have an energy efficiency rating between 81% to 95%. Consider hiring a professional plumber to install your gas pool heater to insure that all connections are properly made and that all safety precautions have been taken.
Electric heat pumps draw heat from the outside air, compress it and use it to heat the water in your pool. The AquaPro Pro 600 is an excellent example of a high efficiency, high quality heat pump. The process is similar to that used by your home’s air conditioning unit – only backwards. Because it draws heat from the air, a heat pump requires an air temperature of 50 degrees Farenheit or above. Combining and electric heat pump, used only at night, with a solar heater for daytime heating can help offset the higher cost of electric power.
The third basic type of swimming pool heater, that is growing in popularity, is the solar heating system. Solar pool heaters operate by passing your pool’s water through black tubes that have absorbed the sun’s heat. The heat is then transferred to the water and returned to the pool by your existing pump. Since it utilizes your pool’s existing pump and filtration system, there is no cost to operate a solar pool heater, but the initial installation cost can be comparatively high. This higher cost can be recovered in only a few years through lower energy costs as compared to other pool heating systems. Solar heater installations can require a lot of space, either on the ground, in slanted racks or on a roof. Plan ahead to make sure you have enough space. The usual recommendation is that the solar array should have an area equal to the surface area of the swimming pool. If you live in an area where summers are very hot, a solar heater can be run at night to cool overheated pool water. For in ground pools, Enersol Solar heaters are an excellent choice, carrying an 18 year warranty, one of the longest in the industry.
Whether or not you decide to purchase a swimming pool heating system, a great pool accessory to have is a solar cover or blanket. Solar covers are made from thin but very durable plastic sheets with insulating bubbles of air between the layers. They resemble the packaging material “bubble wrap”. A solar cover floats on top of the pool. During the daytime, it conducts sunlight into the water to heat it. By night, just like a blanket, the air bubbles prevent the accumulated heat from escaping. A solar cover will increase the effectiveness of any other pool heating method by holding in the heat that is gained during the day. As an added benefit, it will also reduce water and chemical evaporation and prevents dirt and debris from entering the pool while it’s covered, reducing maintenance and stress on your filtration system.
To assist you in putting the cover on and off, a solar reel is available and can be permanently attached to the sides of your above ground pool.
As you can see, there is a swimming pool heater for just about every situation. Most pool equipment manufacturers have introduced new models that are more durable, friendly to the environment and to your budget and more energy efficient than ever before. In choosing the right heater for your pool you will need to factor in the availability and price of fuel, the size of your pool that determines the size of heater you need, and how much and how fast you want to raise the temperature of your water. Get your pool heater today. Start swimming sooner and keep swimming longer.