Pool Heating Recommendations: Gas, Solar or Electric Heat Pump

[jjphillips48]

How long does it take to heat up the spa with a heat pump?

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by jjphillips48

How long does it take to heat up the spa with a heat pump?

I have a spillover and heating the spa is generally 1 1/2 - 3 hours. If the pool is heated and 82 - 84 degrees, it takes much less time to heat the spa... 1 1/2 hours. If the pool is unheated and in the mid low 70's, and it's chilly out, the spa could take several hours.

Overall, I have no issue with it and don't mind. I came from a house with a dedicated hot tub that was always hot. You can't use the spillover spa on a moments notice but I adjusted to that. I put an AquaLink system on and even at work, I can put it into spa mode if I think I'll use the spa that evening.

[PacketHauler]

Originally Posted by ImmerLernen

So, if you're putting in a new pool, the recommendation (consensus?) is that a heat pump is best/most efficient?

What about an existing pool? What's involved in converting (time-wise and money-wise)? And what's involved in adding a heat pump if the existing pool isn't heated at all (if those even exist)?

On a related subject, can an existing pool be "remodeled"...for example, if it's too small and there's room for expansion, what's involved (time/money) in enlarging it?

As long as you have the room for adding the pump/heater by your filter, you should be okay. It's all above ground plumbing and basically it would get installed inline with your existing filter/pump.

Thankfully the builders look like they had foresight with my pool. There is a gas line and a concrete pad right next to my pool pump/filter where I could easily put a heater, if only the heaters weren't so blasted expensive.

[ImmerLernen]

Getting back to the original post for a minute...

Originally Posted by jjphillips48

Gas - Connected only to hot tub. Will heat up hot tub very quickly for intermittent use. Can be used to heat main pool area by allowing hot tub to waterfall into main pool, but would take several hours and could be very expensive allowed to do this for an extended period of time

Electric - Connected to pool and hot tub. Takes much longer to heat up hot tub. Would need to plan ahead a few hours before using hot tub. Less expensive to heat main pool area but could take several days to heat to desired level.

Is a combination gas (for hot tub only) and electric (for pool) ever done?

I can see wanting the quick heat-up of the hot tub, especially for year-round use. For the pool, I wouldn't mind planning ahead several days to heat it up on a more seasonal basis. But once heated, does it take a lot of electricity to maintain the desired temperature (again, assuming pool usage only for warmest months of the year)?

[clnewman]

We've a "mock" spillover spa feeding the pool. The spa has a small waterfall that pills into the pool when the pool pump runs, creating a relaxing sound.

When just running the spa, the spillover shuts off, thus allowing us to heat just the spa if you want (i.e., when in spa mode, the spa water recirculates through the heater. When in pool mode, water is pumped into the spa, but dumps over the waterfall into the pool). In pool mode, the pool and spa are the same temp.

Our heating is gas, and very efficient. The spa heats up to 102°F (our preferred temp) in a 60-90 minutes, depending on the baseline water temp. The pool itself (which isn't very large... about 10k gallons), takes less than 24 hours to get to 82°F from its baseline. The spa also has a feature where I can dump the spa's (heated) water into the pool, thus partially heating it.

Your pool, if not shaded, will become uncomfortably warm in the peak summer months. A pool screen is supposed to help keep it cooler. Ours often gets to well above 90°F without heating... 95° is not unheard of. Not refreshing at all. I designed and built a pool chiller, using a beer jockey box cooler (full of stainless steel coils), some plastic tubing and a submersible battery powered 200gph bilge pump. Fill the cooler with ice and a little water, put the pump in the shallow end and the output hose in the deep end, turn on the pump and walk away. Works great I have cooled the pool 10° in 4-5 hours. There's a world of difference between 82°F and 92°F in terms of being refreshing. This cost me about $250 to cobble together, and has been a terrific investment.

The lady we bought our house from (she built the house) owns a pool construction/service company. She initially installed solar, and swapped it out for gas after a few years. She said the solar was too difficult to control, and flying debris in a blow would damage the panels. When we installed our new roof, we had the solar panels removed (they were no longer serviceable after 18 years).

Go with gas. Just my 2¢... of course, YMMV

[jjphillips48]

Originally Posted by PacketHauler

As long as you have the room for adding the pump/heater by your filter, you should be okay. It's all above ground plumbing and basically it would get installed inline with your existing filter/pump.

Thankfully the builders look like they had foresight with my pool. There is a gas line and a concrete pad right next to my pool pump/filter where I could easily put a heater, if only the heaters weren't so blasted expensive.

Has anyone tried a hybrid system of Gas & Heat Pump or Gas & Solar? Seems like you would get the best of both worlds that way, assuming you're willing to make the upfront investment.