Swimming Pool Heating
Remeber - the one factor that determines the use of the pool is the temperature of the water so it's important to get it right!
We offer all forms of heating for swimming pools from electric, gas, oil, ground source and air source heat pumps and more.
By far the most popular form of heating for outdoor swimming pools at the moment is a swimming pool heat pump:
Heat pumps have been around now for over 30 years, because the internal components are the same as a refrigerator they are very reliable and very efficient.
Call us now so that we can look at the options available for you swimming pool with you, give you the right advice including estimated running costs, installation costs, etc. We can spend time with you going through the advantages of all the various forms of heating.
How a Heat Pump Works
The basic principal is that using fridge technology, the Heat Pump extracts energy from the outside air and turns it into heat; this heat is then transferred to the pool water through a heat exchanger, the waste cold air is discharged from the side or the top of the unit.
Heat Pumps are super efficient with COP (co-efficiencies) of up to 5:1, this means you put in £1 in electricity and the Heat Pump gives you £5 worth of heat to the pool.
A COP COMPARISON
- Element Electric Heater £1 IN approx £1 OUT
- Condensing Boiler £1 IN approx 90p OUT
- Standard Gas/Oil Boiler £1 IN approx 80p OUT
So you can see they offer very low running costs!!
COMMON QUESTIONS
Q1) What type of pool will a Heat Pump heat??
Answer – Heat Pumps will heat all types of pool, Above Ground, Inground, One Piece, Liner and Concrete Tile.
Heat Pumps are recommended for use with the pool in the summer season, May-Sept, or you can size them up for April – November (extended Season Model).
There are units available to work throughout the year for indoor pools, but because the outside temperature is so low you require a much larger unit especially designed to extract heat down below freezing.
Q2) What are the down sides of a Heat Pump??
Answer – As part of there working they require a fan to discharge the waste cold air, this fan and internal compressor make a noise, generally it's around 45-60 DB so the location of the Heat Pump is important as not to annoy neighbours.
However, unlike boilers there is no smell or fumes.
Q3) Is a Heat Pump Environmentally friendly??
Answer – Yes very! Now all refrigerators /air conditioning systems and Heat Pumps have to use ozone friendly gas, the new gas does NOT damage the environment.
The technology used and COP means they are far above other conventional types of pool water heating.
Q4) What's their life expectancy??
Answer – As with all we buy there are different makes with different qualities, from the less expensive Chinese to the more expensive UK , EU or US made.
A good quality Heat Pump should last over 20 years.
Q5) Do Heat Pumps require an annual service??
Answer – No, we recommend that you service them after 5 years then again every 5 or 6 years, this gives a huge saving over conventional boilers which require an annual service.
Q6) Do Heat Pumps suffer if your chemical balance is incorrect??
Answer - Most good quality Heat Pumps now come with Titanium Heat Exchangers, this special metal is much more resilient against low PH, again most units with Titanium come with very long warrantees on the Heat Exchanger, other heating systems DON'T have Titanium so are more likely to fail.
Heat Pump Sizing Table
Pool Size (ft) |
M(sq) |
Gallons |
Litres |
Summer May-Sept |
Extended Season April-Oct |
18 x 8 |
13.4 |
3,500 |
15,250 |
3kw |
4.5kw |
20 x 10 |
19.0 |
5,000 |
22,500 |
4.5kw |
6kw |
24 x 12 |
27.0 |
7,000 |
31,500 |
6kw |
9kw |
26 x 12 |
29.0 |
8,000 |
36,000 |
9kw |
12kw |
28 x 14 |
36.0 |
10,000 |
45,000 |
9kw |
14kw |
30 x 14 |
39.0 |
11,000 |
49,500 |
14kw |
20kw |
30 x 15 |
42.0 |
12,500 |
56,250 |
14kw |
20kw |
32 x 16 |
47.0 |
14,500 |
65,250 |
20kw |
24kw |
36 x 18 |
60.0 |
18,000 |
81,000 |
24kw |
30kw |
40 x 20 |
74.0 |
22,500 |
101,250
|
30kw |
32kw |
N:B – It's always best to go up a size to give you extra in reserve
The above sizing graph assumes the following conditions:
- The pool is 3ft – 6ft deep with an average depth of 4.5ft
- It is located in a sheltered location
- The use of a Gold/Blue 500Micron Solar blanket
- Low wind speed
- No water table
- Average outside temperature 15°C (59F)
- Humidity 60%
- Desired water temperature 28°C (84F)
For more information and pricing please contact us on one of the two branches.
Traditional heating methods such as gas, oil, LPG and electric are also available with a wide range stocked in our warehousing.