In recent years, a lot of effort has been geared towards environmental conservation. Many governments are coming up with stringent measures in combating the effects of climate change. During the warm summer days, most of us spend a lot of time with our families indoors or outdoors. This means you’re either swimming or engaging in other fun outdoor activities. Spending time indoors might significantly affect your electricity bills. One of the items that might be inflating your electricity bills is your swimming pool. Warming a pool requires a lot of energy, which translates to high electricity bills. This is why you need to think about investing in an energy-efficient pool. If you’re looking to make your pool more energy-efficient, here are a series of steps you need to follow, which we will discuss below, so read on.
Use a Pool Cover
Installing a pool cover for your pool is one of the best energy-saving tips you can start with. The market is flooded with a range of more solar pool cover options you can try. We have pool covers that resemble a big blanket of bubble wrap to more modern pool covers that open with the click of a switch. A pool cover helps to lower the rate of evaporation. In a swimming pool set up, evaporation contributes largely to high energy use. Before water goes into a pool, energy is used in filtering the water so that it’s ready for swimming.
Additionally, the heating systems consume a lot of power and energy during filtration and cleaning of the water. Through evaporation, pools lose a lot of water, which flies into the atmosphere; this is energy expenditure gone into waste. A pool cover helps lower the evaporation rate when the pool is not in use, which allows the pool’s system to consume less energy.
Go the Solar Powered Way
You can harness power from the sun to help in conserving energy for your swimming pool. It would be best to use solar energy if your pool uses solar blankets (solar covers and solar heaters). Solar blankets absorb thermal energy from the sun, and in turn, this energy helps to warm pool water. Solar heaters use energy-collecting panels that heat the pool water during the daytime. During the night, solar covers keep your pool under warm, moderate temperatures by trapping the sun’s rays through their bubble wrap-like air pockets. According to a data report from the U.S. Department of Energy, using solar blankets lowersenergy costs by a forty to eighty percent margin. The only disadvantage of solar heating is if the weather doesn’t allow it.
Use LED lighting
Compared to incandescent lights, LEDs consume less energy and have a longer life span. LED lights use less than 50 watts of power while the incandescent versions operate at 300 watts of power. These numbers are hard to ignore if you’re looking to cut down on your pool’s energy use. Many LEDs provide up to 40,000 hours of lighting than their counterparts, which only offer 3,500 hours. This means less maintenance and replacement costs. Additionally, LED lights come with various effects and customizable colors, which will look good for your pool.
Landscaping
Many people may not realize that the landscaping environment surrounding their pools may help in saving energy. The landscaped environment in your home yard can impact your outdoor living space. For instance, installing a berm, hedge, or a sturdy windbreak can help lower your pool’s heat loss during windy days. Preserving the temperatures in your pool helps to conserve heat and lower energy costs. Additionally, if your landscaping is done correctly, the chances are that your pool will be exposed to the sun for more extended periods during the day. This will help the sun to warm your pool water, which will lower the heating costs. Planting shrubs and trees near the pool helps to maximize the sun rays hitting your swimming pool. However, ensure the twigs and leaves don’t fall in the water. They might lead to clogged drains, which means your pumps will use more energy in unclogging the drains.
Optimal Pump Timer
A pool pump helps to circulate water in your pool. Using a pump timer helps distribute the water at the appropriate time, and that less energy is used. The pump timer can be set to run for a specific period enough to circulate water, after which it shuts off automatically. However, this activity needs experimenting before you can determine the time required for circulation. Additionally, you should ensure that the amount of time the pump runs is sufficient to clean the water. You can set your pump to run on scheduled off-hours for additional energy savings when power is not used.
Use Windbreaks
Even the slightest of winds can increase evaporation rates in your pool. This is why pool owners need to invest in the installation of windbreaks around their pools. A slight wind speed of 6mph on the pool’s surface can escalate power consumption by 200 percent. A windbreak lowers water loss, which has consumed plenty of energy in its preparation for the pool. If your pool is surrounded by a fence – which is crucial for safety options – erecting a windbreak is a vital investment. A standard windbreak resembles the screens you’d find in a tennis court and not a permanent concrete wall. When installing a windbreak, go for a semi-transparent windbreak, which blends well with your pool’s background. Ensure your windbreak is tall enough and near the pool to curb air turbulence over the swimming pool surface.
Use an Energy Saving Pool Pump
Many pool owners install pool pumps that are large and less efficient. For the best size, ensure to consult a pool expert. He/she will first assess the size of your pool before they can recommend the best pump. It would be best to go for a small energy-saving pump which will still circulate your water with lower energy levels. Remember, the bigger the pump, the more power it requires to run. For a home pool, a 0.75hp pump will do the work. Additionally, you can also decrease the amount of time the pump runs. Operating your pump for short cycles than using it for more extended periods will help save plenty of energy.
Switch Off the Heater
As a pool owner, ensure your pool operates at moderate temperatures without overheating. According to WHO (World Health Organization), the best swimming temperature is 78 degrees. However, most swimming pools are kept warmer with a temperature range of 81 – 85 degrees. Increasing your pool’s temperature even by one degree can significantly increase energy consumption. You should only heat your pool’s water to 80 degrees during peak swimming periods and lower the heat afterward. It would be best if you experiment with different temperatures to find the best range conducive to swimming.
Additionally, try researching for heaters that have 95% efficiency. Using an efficient heater will help to cut down your energy bills significantly. You can also adjust your heating schedule according to the weather. Consider switching off your heater during sunny days. Finally, remember to get the right heater size for your pool.
Install Automated Pool Cleaners
Because of modern technology, many swimming pools are now equipped with automated pool cleaners. If your pool has a computerized pool cleaner, run it for four to six hours a day, especially during the warm seasons. During winter, you can operate it for one to three hours daily. Ensure to start the pool sweep 13 minutes or more after switching on the filter pump. Additionally, remember to stop it 10 minutes or more before you switch off the filter pump. During dusty days, you can increase the cleaning duration by one hour until the water is clear and clean.
Check the Filtration System
You should ensure that your drains are not clogged by litter and other debris materials. If your gutters are clogged, the pump and filter will have to use more power to move it through the system. This leads to increased energy consumption. Cleaning your swimming pool frequently ensures your system is running efficiently. With innovations in the marine sector, you can now update your filtration system to a modern type. Traditional filters require less repeated backwashing. This minimizes the want to refill the pool after a wash, which reduces the demand on the pool’s heater. Additionally, this increases the lifespan of your filtration system.
Choose the Best Pool Finish
The construction or design of your pool can contribute significantly to saving energy. A dark-colored pool helps to absorb the sun’s warmth, which heats and warms the water. Additionally, using vinyl liners or black tiles will naturally heat the water in your pool. This helps to conserve energy and minimize your heating costs. Most people wouldn’t consider a black finish, but this will come in handy if you’re looking to save energy. Additionally, this will help in protecting and conserving the environment.
Choose the Right Sanitizing Products
Globally, many swimming pools use chlorine to sanitize and clean water in a pool. Compared to other products, chlorine stays longer in the water, which can access the pool’s furthest corners, including the plumbing section. Products like ozone or oxygen can only work in the injected area. Using these sanitizers means operating your filter for more extended periods and harder to remove the dead spots. Additionally, some of these products have critical health hazards to the body, and we highly discourage using them.
Try Modern Heating Technology
You can use modern technology in your pool to increase energy efficiency. In addition to the solar blankets we talked about, you can install a new heating system that utilizes the idea of deep heating. This notion works by heating the pool from the bottom up. Additionally, you can work with a professional plumber to help remove narrow conduits and replace them with larger ones for easy water flow; Some of these features, like having many tight turns cause the pump to overwork. This, in turn, increases energy use, which leads to high power bills.
Keep Your Cleaning System Maintained
The role of a cleaning system is to keep a pool clean. This means you also need to keep your system clean, which should be conducted frequently. You can work with a company which deals with swimming pool maintenance. Working with a professional company helps ensure your cleaning system is working efficiently and a clean pool. Maintaining a clean cleaning system will help to improve your swimming experience and that of others.
Avoid Leaving Your Pump Switched On
As we mentioned above, the pump helps to discard away debris and waste out of the pool. Additionally, the pump is responsible for ensuring cleaning chemicals and sanitizers are rigorously mixed within the pool’s water. For a pump to perform these functions, it doesn’t need to run for a full day. You can have a schedule where you reduce the pumping time by four or five hours a day. However, be sure to check if the pool has changed its appearance within that duration. If your pool gathers waste quickly, you might need to keep it operating for more than five hours. Reducing your pump’s running time will significantly minimize your pool’s energy use.
Daily Maintenance Check
Conducting daily routine checks might seem like a lot of work to a pool owner. However, regular checks help you spot some of your pool’s issues and have them rectified immediately. In the long haul, this will help lower your operational costs. Ensure to keep your drain systems clear and reduce the pool temperature when no one is swimming. This will help to keep your pool running efficiently and lower energy costs.
Using a combination of one or all of these tips will help to keep your pool more energy efficient. Sometimes, using other approaches to solve problems is better than relying on a single process. Although these tips will work efficiently, most of the work stops with you as a pool owner or operator. Remember, conserving energy helps to have a better tomorrow.
