Category: pool

Swimming Pool Heaters

Every pool needs a pump and a filter, but many pool owners add a heater to complete the system. The heater is installed after so that only clean water reaches it. Some people think of pool heaters as unnecessary luxuries. But in cooler areas of the country, a heater lets you open the pool earlier in the spring and keep it open longer into the fall. In hot regions, a pool heater may allow you to use your pool almost year round.

There are three main types of pool heaters; a gas heater either propane or natural, oil fired heater or a heat pump which uses electricity.

Swimming Pool Gas Heaters
Either natural gas or propane is the most popular fuel used for pool heaters. In the typical heater, water flows through one port, picks up heat from the heat exchanger in the heater, and exits another port on the way back to the pool. Most heaters mix the just heated water with cool water to maintain a preset temperature. Gas appliances have become increasingly more efficient in recent years. With innovations in hydraulics, heat exchanger technology, forced draft combustion systems, and pilot-less ignitions, efficiency has almost doubled in recent years. High efficiency pool heaters are now available that are 89-95% efficient. Heater efficiency is the ratio of usable output to energy input.

Swimming Pool Oil-Fired Gas Heaters
Oil-fired pool heaters are a good choice in areas where natural gas is unavailable but home heating oil is. Laars is the recognized leader in oil-fired pool heaters. The XL-3 is the preferred choice for those applications where an oil-fueled heater is a must.

Swimming Pool Heat Pumps
It is the heat pump in which heat is transferred to that water by taking the warmth out of the air that is created by compressing a gas. Pool and spa water circulates through the unit the same way as the other heaters, but does not pump any more heat than any other design of pool and spa heater. A compressor in the unit exerts pressure on a gas, usually Freon, and generates heat. The water is circulated through a heat exchanger that is warmed by contact with the hot gas. The gas cools from contact with the water and is recompressed and heated to start the cycle all over again. The Freon used in heat pumps is a nonflammable, noncorrosive gas, which makes it suited to this application. Freon does not contain the chlorine component of the Flourocarbon that makes it environmentally hazardous. Though expensive, heat pumps are energy efficient and last a long time. They are not effective spa heaters because they take a long time to heat the water in the spa. Because they rely in part on taking warmth from the air, the hotter the surrounding temperature, the better and quicker they work.

We all know the drill. It’s sunny and warm, you’ve just finished mowing the lawn and the pool is looking great. You slip into your trunks, run full ball across the yard and dive headlong into the sparkling, azure water. The rest, as they say, is history. As your family drags you gasping and convulsing from the shallow end you promise yourself yet again to invest in a pool heater.

Pool heaters are a must for those living in cooler climates and wanting to extend their swimming season. Pool owners who have unavoidable obstacles that shade their pools for extended periods during the day will also benefit from not having to call 911 each time someone gets in the pool. In some cases pool heaters can effectively double the amount of swimming days in a year, and when one considers the cost of installing and maintaining a pool, figuring out the value of extending your swimming time becomes a no brainer.

Before you consider pool heaters one should first install a good pool cover if you don’t have one. Not only are pool covers a sensible safety device, but they keep the pool cleaner and insulate against heat loss. In hot weather and locations where the pool gets a lot of direct sunlight, a pool cover can actually get the water uncomfortably hot on its own. However, once a decision to install a heater has been made the next step is to decide which type of pool heater suits your situation best. Here are a couple of pointers when making that call.

Gas fired pool heaters

These pool heaters are considerably cheaper to install and run than the other types. Professionally installed LP gas systems are safe, clean and efficient and are easy and fairly cheap to maintain. If you have no problems with LP gas supplies then gas fired pool heaters should be your first choice.

Oil fired pool heaters

Oil fired pool heaters work in much the same way as gas fired examples and are also cheaper to install, run and maintain. These heaters are a good choice where LP gas heaters and gas supplies are hard to come by.

Electrical pool heaters

Electrical heaters are very clean in operation but are by far the most costly to operate and take the most maintenance. Many people feel uncomfortable with high load electrical equipment near a pool and this should be considered when looking at electrical pool heaters.

Solar powered pool heaters

Although theoretically the cheapest pool heaters to run, solar powered examples are way more expensive to install, and I mean WAY more. A solar heater system can cost over half as much as the pool did. Generally solar pool heaters panels are placed on the houses roof or other high vantage points where they can receive maximum, unobstructed exposure to the sun.

This means that the water has to be pumped up to the panels and because of the head involved need fairly staunch pumps which, in turn, consume far more power than other types. Panel maintenance and replacement is also exorbitantly expensive. These systems should be considered very carefully before committing to purchase.

All said, gas fired pool heaters are the hands down winners. Cheap to install, clean, cheap and easy to use, they are the first choice in pool heaters. You’ll have a whole lot more swimming days in a year and won’t have to think twice about those headlong dives any more