It’s getting to that time of year when pool heaters are the main topic for customers. Everyone wants the ability to swim in a pool that is heated when it’s freezing outside. However, which the several different types of heaters out there you can get misinformation and choose the wrong one for your pool. Let’s get the right one for you! Here are the four main types of pool heaters:
- Gas
- Electric
- Solar
- Solar Blankets/Rings
Gas Heaters
A gas pool heater is an efficient bugger. It is your quickest heating source, but it literally comes at a cost. In my area, gas heaters can run you $7-$15 dollars per day to operate. That’s a lot of coin! The gas pool heater is the highest cost of heat, as far as operational costs go. A couple of other cons are it requires clearances and can’t be placed near windows so the exhaust doesn’t kill anyone. They are also hard to place on pads (at least here in Florida) because pads here tend to be on the smaller side. Some pros, as mentioned before, is they heat the pool the quickest, and has a small footprint so for smaller pads it can be a plus. Gas heating can costs between $3,000-$4,000 and that doesn’t include permitting or connecting gas.
Electric Heaters
An electric pool heater is your cheapest operational cost heater, with the exception of solar. Electric heating in my area costs between $1.00-$1.50 per day. So if you run the numbers that can equal $50,000-$60,000 in savings over gas heating over the course of 10 years. However, electric doesn’t come without its draw backs. It’s a much larger unit, when compared to gas. It also doesn’t the pool as quickly, so to bring the pool up to temperature you’ll have to run the system longer. It’s also more expensive to install. You can find electric pool heaters ranging between $3,000 to $6,000 if you want the heat/cool option. That does not include electrical work or permitting. Electric pool heaters are my favorite.
Solar Heating on Your Roof
Solar heating every one seems to think it’s the best. It’s great in theory, but in practicality it falls short. It’s the most expensive heating source to install, but the major perk is the operational costs are $0 (not including if something has failed). The drawbacks are is your strapping stuff to your roof, and the system will not heat the pool if the day is overcast or rainy. So if you’re in a perfect sunny climate year round, then you can probably benefit from solar. One thing people don’t think about is their pool pump. There’s only a handful of pumps that are designed to push water up to your roof and I find that in most solar applications the pump is not proper. So if you’re looking at solar, prepare to upgrade your pump in most cases.
Solar Rings/Blankets
I don’t believe this to be a “source” of heating or should be called a pool heater. What they are good for is maintaining the heat that is in the pool. Keep in mind, you will lose some heat from the water through dissipation over night when the system isn’t running. That is where these devices come in handy. Other than that, I believe they are a waste of money to be used as a “source” of pool heat.
So there you have it! Those are my thoughts on pool heaters. What’s your thoughts? Let me know down in the comment section or you can contact us here. I also did a video on this topic, seen below. Check it out!
