Sydney Pool Heating & Installation

The answer to this question depends on your usage requirements. For somebody who only wants to heat their pool 3 or 4 times throughout the swimming season a gas heater can prove more cost effective. However if your preference is to maintain the pool at a swimmable temperature throughout the season then a heat pump will prove to be more cost effective to run, this is especially true if you have PV solar panels on your roof.

Solar heating is a viable option between November and March, however if your aim is to get the most out of your heated swimming pool, an appropriately sized electric pool heat pump can have your pool heated all year round.

1. A solar pool cover will greatly reduce the running costs of any pool heater by trapping heat from the sun’s rays, and minimizing heat evaporation from the surface of your heated pool.
2. Run your electric pool heat pump to coincide with your PV solar production hours
3. Try a Liquid Solar Pool Cover.
4. Minimize the amount of exposure the pool has to wind, this be achieved via fencing or landscaping.
5. Install a Pool Heat Pump.
6. Combine a Solar Cover and Pool Heat Pump.

Below are the approximate running costs by month for the various pool heating options, based on a 25000L swimming pool. From this table you can see that pairing a heat pump with a pool cover is far and away the cheapest way to maintain your pool at temperature during the swimming season.

The quickest way to get your pool to temperature initially is running your heater 24/7 until the target temperature is reached. Once you have reached your target temperature you should run your heat pump for the recommended amount of time per day specified in the below chart (based on a 25000L pool).

The Cost of a Gas Heater vs Electric Heater

For somebody who only wants to heat their pool 3 or 4 times throughout the swimming season a gas heater can prove to be more cost effective. However if your preference is to maintain the pool at a swimmable temperature throughout the season then a heat pump will prove to be more cost effective to run, this is especially true if you have PV solar panels on your roof. Please see the below table which estimates the cost to heat a 25000L pool using Gas vs. Electric pool heating to maintain a water temperature of 28 degrees.

The gold standard for pool heating is 28°C, but this is down to personal preference and can vary with the seasons. For instance when the outside temperatures are only 22-23°C and your pool temperature is 26°C it will feel warmer than if you dive in in the middle of Summer.

We recommend that our customers don’t heat their pool higher than 30°C unless they have automated chemical control as you can risk denaturing the Chlorine in your pool water and this can lead to an Algae bloom.

The fastest way to heat your pool is to use a gas pool heater and a solar cover. It’s like heating up your coffee in the microwave and putting a lid on it. No matter how you plan to heat your pool, you should at least have a solar cover to help you retain the heat. In fact in some states a pool cover is mandated for any new pool heating installations.

1. The size of your electric heat pump – A heat pump with a higher capacity has the ability to heat your pool much faster than a smaller model.
2. The size of your pool – The analogy I use here is to picture placing a small and a large pot of water on the stove side by side, the smaller pot will always boil before the larger pot provided they have the same heat input. Obviously a larger heat pump for that larger pool will assist with heat up times.
3. Using a pool cover – Imagine that pot of water you just put on the stove had a lid on top, it is going to reach boiling point a lot quicker as the heat is being retained inside the pot. The same can be said for your pool, heat up times are greatly reduced and daily running hours won’t be as great if you are diligent with the use of your pool cover.
4. Time of year – The amount of time it will take to heat your pool to the target temperature will vary greatly depending on the seasons, if you are trying to get the pool to 28 degrees in the middle of winter the amount of time it takes will be double or triple that of the spring and summer months.
   This is because the starting water temperature is much lower, and an electric heat pump is less efficient when the weather outside is colder.
   That’s not to say that they are inefficient in the cooler months, just that they are able to extract more heat from the atmosphere when it is warmer outside.

1. Be diligent with your Solar Blanket
2. Pair your electric heat pump with solar PV panels
3. Use a Liquid Solar Cover to Reduce Pool Heating Cost
4. Install Wind Blocks
5. Install a Pool Cover