Everyone likes warm pool water, anything below 82° is too cold. For a lot of people with the tight grip on the wallet, heating pool water may be extravagant. All the pool owners know that after spending on a pool heater, there is the cost of installing a pool heater and then the cost to run a pool heater.
About pool heater price –
The Solar heat is free but it is not so reliable or dependable. If the weather changes and there are few days of cold and rainy weather, then you come back to square one. The pool heat pumps cost half as much as than the gas heaters, the prices never have been lower for natural gas but pool heater pump cost twice as much to buy compared to gas heaters.
Factors Affecting Pool Heating Installation Costs
Size and type of pool heater
Average daily air temperatures
Covered or uncovered pool
High winds and heavy rains
Cost of electricity and gas
How warm or hot you want it
Types of Pool Heatings
Solar Heating
It is the cheapest way to heat your in ground swimming pool, after the purchase of solar heating panels, you get free heat from the sun. Panels may be mounted on roof or rack or pavilion. Panels should be mounted at the place where you get the maximum sunlight during the day.
Ideal location could be an unobstructed Southern exposure. If you don’t have a Southern exposure, you can still use solar panels but you have to increase the amount of solar panels to maintain the same efficiency.
When you heat the pool with solar heating panels the water temperature increases slowly, 1- 3 degrees per day . A 15 to 20 degree temperature rise is possible with warm, sunny weather. During rainy days, heater output diminishes, until the air temperature rises higher than the pool temperature.
Heat Pumps
For in ground pools heat pumps require 220 volt electrical lines and depending on the size of the heat pump, at least a 40 ampere breaker. Heat pumps require a lot of amperes to operate but they are efficient and cheap to operate especially during summer season.
Pool Heat Pumps
Work opposite to an air conditioning unit, to transfer heat from the air into the swimming pool water.Warm air outside, is drawn over an evaporator coil by a fan, heat is transferred to the pool water as it runs through the heat exchanger and returns back to the pool warmer.
Electric Heat Pump
you can maintain constant temperature whether it is 6:00 a.m. in the morning or 11:00 p.m. in the evening, you can always maintain the same temperature. If you plan swimming on a daily basis, then heat pumps are a great option. They are not so quick to heat up but are 60 to 80% cheaper to operate than a gas pool heater.
Gas Heaters
Gas Heaters are available in liquid propane and natural gas. Mostly gas heaters operate at 80% efficiency. If sized properly, they can heat the water quickly or about 1 to 3 degrees per hour. If there is an attached spa near to your pool, gas heaters can heat them in just 15 minutes.
To heat the pool with a natural gas heater, you need to run a gas line from the meter in the house to the place where the pool is located. This would cost a few hundred dollars to little more, depending on the length of the gas line.
Before adding a gas heater, contact the gas company and inform them that you want to add a pool heater to your gas service and tell them the size of the heater, in BTUs . They will inform you, if they require to upsize your gas meter to handle the additional load.
For liquid propane heaters, you need to call the local propane company, to provide you with a proper size gas tank and gas line. If you have plans to swim only on the weekends or you would like to do spot heating then a gas heater is a good option. Gas heaters give rapid heat, increasing the temperature quickly compared to solar heating panels or electric heat pumps.
How Much Does Pool Heaters Cost To Install?
Installation cost depends on variables such as location of pool equipment, size of the pool, cost per kilowatt-hour and geographical location. Here are the steps involved in installing the pool heater –
Solar Pool Heaters
You can Mount solar panels on the roof or you can make a rack facing south.
Connect PVC pipes from the pool filter to the solar panels and back from the solar panels.
Mount solar controller, install sensors.
Most systems can be completed by two people in 6 hours.
Electric Heat Pumps
Requires 220 volt dedicated electrical line from 30 to 60 amp breaker. Should be bonded.
Connect pipes to the inlet and outlet heat pump and back to the swimming pool.
Total cost is the electrician’s time and materials.
Gas Pool Heater
Natural gas heaters require a gas line from the gas meter to the pool heater.
Propane delivery companies provide estimates or cost of installation.
PVC pipe – pool filter to inlet and outlet of pool heater and back to the return line.
Connect power into the heater to operate control circuits. Heaters should be bonded.
Operation Costs For Each Heater Type
Solar Heaters
Whatever it costs you to run a pool pump, which has to be on to push water through the solar panels. The heat is of course, free from the sun.
Heat Pumps
Depends on the desired pool temperature and how long enough to run your pump and filter to maintain the desired temperature. Amount you pay per kilowatt hour electricity depends on the location.
Gas Heaters
Depends on the required temperature of pool water and starting water temperature. The time of running the pool pump and gas heater help determine the total cost.
Gas heaters consume 1 therm of gas per 1 hour , per 100,000 BTUs and LP heaters consume 1 gallon of LPG per hour, per 100,000 BTUs of heater size.
Repair Costs For Each Heater Type
Solar Heaters
The least often repaired and very minimum-cost. If there is panel leak, then there are easy ways to repair it. Solar panels last more than 15 years, before the sun begins to break down the material and they become brittle.
Gas Heaters
Mostly the gas heaters do not require much maintenance, compared to heat pumps or solar heaters. In the latter years of gas heaters, replacement of some components is common, worst cases are damaged heat exchangers and burning trays. Their life span can be extended by using a winter heater cover.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are very reliable with less circuitry and sensitive components than gas heaters. Worst case on a heat pump is the heat exchanger or compressor failing. Fan bearing needs attention in older models. New units are solid state circuitry, still a good idea is to use a heat cover during winter.
Life Expectancy
Heater’s lifespan is affected by many factors. Heat pumps or heaters that are under a downspout, buried deep under overhanging vegetation get damaged from excess moisture. It is a good idea to use winter cover and also a rodent repellent.
If the pH and alkalinity and chlorine levels are maintained properly, then it helps to prevent damage to a heat exchanger. Solar heaters have no problems until the sun breaks down the polymers in the plastic, at which point leaks start developing.
Solar Heaters – 12 to 15 years
Heat Pumps – 12 to 15 years
Gas Heaters – 8 to 12 years
Ways to Reduce Heating Costs
The heating cost can be reduced approximately 30 to 50% by using solar blankets or solar fish. Solar fish is more convenient than a solar blanket, but is not as efficient. If you don’t use a solar blanket, all the amount spent on heating the pool will disappear overnight.
How Much Does It Cost To Heat A Pool?
For the in- ground pool owners, the installation cost of any type of pool heater is between $ 500 – $1500, depending on the situational factors and if some of the work you have done yourself.
How much does it cost to heat a pool per month? For solar heaters the cost to run a pool heater is free, $100 – $200/mo for heater pumps and $200 – $400/mo for gas heater. Actual heating expense varies from month to month according to the outside weather and temperatures . In hotter months, less gas aur electricity is used then during colder months, early and late in the season.
In ground pools owners spend $170 per month on a heated pool or about $ 800 per season. Above ground pool owners spend 1/3 to 1/2 less.
Using a Pool Cover
Gas pool heaters give the most consistent, fastest heating but cost much more to operate than solar heaters and heat pumps . If you are still confused about which heater type is most effective and economical in the long run, then take a look at all the pool heaters available online.
Either a solar cover or an automatic cover or liquid Solar blanket that reduces heat loss and evaporation by 75% or reduces the energy expense. Lowering the thermostat a few degrees during periods of non-use also reduces the cost to run a pool heater.
How important is on demand pool heat to you? Gas pool heaters give quick heating consistently. Heat pumps are slow to heat and do not heat at all when the external temperature is below 50 degrees. Solar heaters do not heat during cold or any periods.