How to Reduce Your Swimming Pool's Energy Consumption
Do you know that pools account for approximately 30% of your household energy consumption? Of course this depends on the type of equipment you’re operating and the size of the equipment, but there’s no denying that your pool takes up a huge chunk of your energy bill.
Credit: Pooled Energy
According to Canstar Blue, the average swimming pool will cost between $800 and $1,200 to run annually – consuming between 2,000 and 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. That’s about $23 each week! This cost takes into account the ongoing cost of your pool pump, but does not include heating – that’s going to be extra!
So how do you run your pool more efficiently? There are four major ways you can slash the energy consumption of your pool:
1. Using a pool cover
2. Considering solar heating
3. Using a variable-speed pump
4. Regular maintenance is the key
Pool cover
A pool cover is a worthwhile investment. They not only protect the pool from leaf litter and other debris, but can substantially extend the swimming season. Covers trap in heat and reduce water and energy loss through evaporation. In the case of a heated pool, a well-fitted cover can deliver an energy saving of up to 50%. If you don’t want the hassle of using conventional pool covers, you can consider liquid pool covers such as our ECOSAVR or HEATSAVR. It’s an easy solution that provided a barrier on the surface of your pool without affecting the chemical balance of your pool.
Consider solar heating
Solar pool heaters are probably the most cost-effective option that uses the sun’s energy to heat your swimming pool water. Generally it pays for itself within 3-5 years and incurs almost negligible operating costs. It is important to note that the quality and design of solar collectors will have a major influence on the effectiveness of the solar pool heating system. For more heating options, please refer to our pool heating guide.
Using a variable-speed pump
Variable-speed pool pumps are beneficial over traditional single speed ones on energy savings because you can begin your filtration cycle with a similar speed to that of the single speed pump, then run it for a longer amount of time at a lower speed to achieve the same turnover result, hence saving a lot of energy by running your pump at a lower speed. Our R&D team have worked hard to ensure that our AstralPool pumps move more water, using less power, in fewer hours of the day. This means less overall cost and better energy efficiency:
1. Viron XT variable speed pumps
o Our first Climate Care Certified pool pump
o Compared to conventional single speed pumps, the Viron XT pump will save between $700 and $1,200 every year in operating costs
o Not Climate Care Certified, but just as powerful as our other pumps, using less energy in fewer hours of the day
o This is a great little pump for small and mid-sized pools (8-11 metres)
Regular maintenance
You should follow the manufacturer’s instructions and regularly clean and maintain your swimming pool and its equipment to ensure it operates efficiently. For example, regularly cleaning your filter system can help to keep running costs low – a clogged filter requires the pump to work harder to clean the pool, using more energy as a result.
Like servicing your car, pool maintenance specialists use preventative measures to extend the life of pool parts, before they break down and become a costly headache. For more information about running a more economic pool system, chat to a local pool professional using our Dealer Locator. If you’re looking for further ways to cut down your pool’s costs then have a read of our tips on economical pool maintenance.