Do Heat Pumps Use a Lot of Electricity?

Heat pumps serve as a great, popular way to warm-up your pool and reduce heating costs. Heat pumps are installed just as easily as other pool heaters. Also, advanced controls make operating the heat pump simpler than ever. Overall, the heat pump will significantly reduce your operating cost and extend your pool season without breaking the bank.

The device extracts the heat from the air, intensifies it with a compressor, and delivers the new heat to the water as it flows through the system. The process is clean, efficient and most importantly cost effective. On average the electric pump operates at about 25% of the cost of the typical natural gas heater. The heat pump maintains a constant, increased temperature for the pool at a decreased cost, but it is not made for quick heating.

A gas heater usually raises the temperature of the pool 1 degree per hour. An electric pump might take 3 to 5 times longer depending on the outside temperature. If the pump is installed as the primary heat source, with a natural gas heater included as a backup, all of your needs will be accounted for. With a spa attached to the pool, for example, the natural gas heater will raise the spa to its desired temperature in a short period. In general, a heat pump would save the expensive natural gas heater for the emergency, secondary use.

By installing both devices in the heating system, you could run the cost-efficient pump constantly and only use the natural gas system when you want to raise the temperature after extended poor weather, before using the spa, or in preparation of a late-night, outdoor gathering. What are the actual costs associated with this product? Let’s look at the additional costs for this heating option and determine the time it will take to get a return on your investment.

How Exactly Does a Pool Heat Pump Work?

So how exactly does a pool heat pump transfer that heat? It simply uses electricity to pull in warm air from its surroundings, and then moves that heat to the water itself.

Not satisfied with that explanation? We’re about to get technical. If you're not interested and want to move to the next section, I won’t judge you. 

Here’s the advanced, step-by-step explanation of how a pool heat pump works. If you’re ready to read on, buckle in:

1. First, the pool heat pump pulls in water from the pool. The heat pump itself contains freon, which is a colorless liquid used as a refrigerant. Chances are you have freons in your air conditioning, too.

2. Next, the pool heat pump compresses the freon until it reaches a temperature about 200 degrees Fahrenheit, 93 degrees Celsius.

3. The freon then passes from the high-pressure zone of the heat pump into the low-pressure zone. Once the freon’s pressure is released, it turns into a hot gas.

4. Meanwhile, the pool heat pump’s fan pulls in warm ambient air, which flows over a set of evaporator coils. The hotter the temperature of this air, the more heat the evaporator coils will absorb from the freon gas in this next step.

5. Next, the freon gas flows through the evaporator coils, which cools the gas. During this process, the gas transfers its heat to the water circulating through the heat pump, which is then returned to the pool.

Once this process is done, the freon returns to a liquid again, the heat pump pulls more cool water in from the pool, and the cycle continues until all of the pool water is properly heated. And by the way, that freon gas? Thanks to the evaporation coils, it never makes direct contact with your water. 

Do Heat Pumps Use a Lot of Electricity?

Your air conditioner moves 2-3 units of heat from the home for every unit of electricity it uses.  A heat pump, on the other hand, uses one unit of electric energy for every  four units of heat. This actually moves 5-7 units of heat into your pool.  This means a heat pump is FOUR TIMES as efficient as your air conditioning unit.

As your water makes its way through the heat pump as we chatted about earlier, you will get approximately 3-5 degrees of heat.  Heaters and heat pumps measure their heat output in the same form of measurements.  Known as a British Thermal Unit, you are probably more familiar with it being referred to as a BTU.  The higher the BTU, the quicker you will heat your water, using less electricity.

A heat pump’s energy is measured in watts or kilowatts.  They use around 5,000 watts, or 5 kilowatts, per hour, per 100,000 BTUs on your heat pump.  So, you may think”the bigger I go , the more expensive it is to run!”.  Not true.  Because we have it on for a much shorter time, we actually consume less energy than a smaller BTU heater.  

Look at the size of the heat pump you are considering.  Remember, size refers to heat output (BTUs).  Then grab your electric bill and see what your watt, or kilowatt, price is per hour.  You can easily do the math to figure out how much you will be using.

Are Heat Pumps Expensive?

My standard answer is always, “They can be.”  It all depends on where and how you shop.  If you were to go into your local swimming pool supply store and inquire about a name brand heat pump, you would be looking at around $4,000 for a larger unit.  But, you can get a name brand heat pump with the trusted name of GUANG TENG for a fraction of the cost.  They are economical and energy saving.  These top the market in craftsmanship and value.  It even has a self-diagnosis to keep things running smoothly.  But don’t listen to me.  Check them out for yourself here.

With a variety of BTUs to choose from to fit your swimming pool’s needs, you are sure to find a reliable heat pump for your swimming pool this season!  See you poolside!