Not only will it be tough to keep the heat in your pool on colder nights but you will also spend a fortune trying to heat your swimming pool. So unless you have money to burn, it's best not to run your heater at night on an uncovered swimming pool.
A pool heat pump should not be left running all the time. For one, you are wasting electricity by keeping it on when your pool is already warm enough. Also, this will lead to an increase in energy costs month after month.
If the pool is in continuous use, or if you want to use it spontaneously, it must be kept heated all the time, which raises the cost. Keeping an insulated or solar cover on the pool between uses minimizes the heat loss.
A pool that is uncovered can lose up to 5 degrees F overnight; a good cover can cut that loss by half. Used at night or whenever your pool is not in use, the pool cover can help save fuel costs by cutting heat loss regardless of the type of heating you utilize.
We have found that turning the heater off at night allows the water to cool rapidly. The heater then has to burn at a higher rate in the morning to make up the lost heat. The higher you turn the burner the lower the heating efficiency and the greater the heat loss from the exhaust gases.
The best time to heat your pool is during the day at least several hours before you plan on using it. The risk of running your pool pump overnight is that the outdoor temperature might be too low for the pump to efficiently warm your swimming pool.
According to experts at the Energy Saving Trust, the idea it's cheaper to leave the heating on low all day is a myth. They're clear that having the heating on only when you need it is, in the long run, the best way to save energy, and therefore money.
If you have a timer or automated control system, you could run the pump four hours on, four hours off, and you could do that throughout the day and night. That should maintain 85 degrees.
The best answer would be to run your pool's filter system 12 hours a day, during sunlight hours when using solar to heat your swimming pool. The idea is to run all the water in your pool through the filter system at least once a day.
According to Energy.gov, the better way to save money on heating bills is to set back the temperature of your home at least 8 degrees for 8 hours or longer (while you sleep). In fact, you can save 1% on your heating bill for every degree that you lower the thermostat.
Unless it gets considerably colder overnight, your home should retain much of the heat of the day without getting uncomfortably cold. When temperatures are above 60 degrees consistently, it's usually time to turn off your heating system for the season.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a family that sets back its thermostat by about 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day while sleeping or out of the house can save 5 to 15 percent a year on home heating costs.
It depends on a few things to determine how long it takes a heat pump to heat a pool. However, overall a heat pump generally heats a pool after 24 to 72 hours by 20-degrees Fahrenheit. For smaller pools like a spa pool, the heat pump can heat a pool between 45 and 60 minutes.
Night Air is Cooler
Sometime, the air temperature will drop even lower than the pool water. Since the pool water temperature will not change that much within one or two hours, the cooler air makes the water feel warmer than it was previously.
Insulating the Pool Water from Heat Loss
Air bubbles in the pool cover act as an insulator in a similar way that your thermos would keep water warm. A pool cover will, therefore, keep your pool water warmer for longer.
For every degree that you lower the thermostat can help you save up to 1% on your heating costs. So, if you turn down the heating eight degrees for about eight hours a night, you can enjoy a saving of approximately $180 annually on your heating.
Adjust the Thermostat 7 to 10 Degrees
If you're going to be gone for several hours, instead of turning the system completely off, the U.S. Department of Energy recommends turning your heat down by seven to 10 degrees. They also suggest doing this at night, using blankets to make up the difference in temperature.
The energy saving key is lowering the temperature (about 10-12 degrees Fahrenheit or 6-8 degrees Celsius) at night or when you're away.
So, how much electricity does a pool heat pump use? About 5 kilowatts per hour per 100,000 BTU heat pump. For a general 100,000 BTU pool heat pump, the power you`ll utilize is approximately 5,000 Watts per hour. Typically, the National average for power stands at 13 cents for every kilowatt-hour.
If you want to get as much time as possible out of your pool, however, a heater is a good investment. With a pool heater, you can easily be swimming May through mid-October, giving you a good five months of use out of your pool. That's literally double the amount of time you'd get without one.
Heat pump pool heaters cost more than gas pool heaters, but they typically have much lower annual operating costs because of their higher efficiencies. With proper maintenance, heat pump pool heaters typically last longer than gas pool heaters. Therefore, you'll save more money in the long run.
Heat Pumps can help save you money!
This is a much more efficient way to heat your pool's water. To cool your pool's water, the process is reversed. In cooling mode, heat pumps pull heat out of the water and put it back in the air, when Mother Nature decides to turn up her thermostat.
What's The Best Temperature To Set Your Thermostat: Summer
Typically, our bodies are most comfortable when the air inside our home is 74-76 degrees. So, a safe setting is 75 degrees. However, this is only necessary when you're in your home. If you're like most, you are gone during the day.