Calorex Heat pump is not new to the market but the price of fossil fuels has made them a lot more attractive. Also, as technology has improved, their operating cost has dropped dramatically leading to higher levels of efficiency. What is efficiency? How do they work? When should you invest in one instead of a gas or solar system? What does it cost to run? These and some other questions are considered here so read on.
Efficiency
The competence which is talked about in link to Calorex pool heat pumps is also called Coefficient Of Performance or COP. This delivers a relation between the amount of energy used to the amount of energy produced. To balance apples with apples, a common electric immersion heater (such as in a kettle) is around 90% efficient so would have a COP close to 1 but Calorex heat pump can be rated with a COP of 5 which means a performance of 500%. This just because of the Certikin heat pump doesn't actually make heat (like an immersion pool heater does) they just move it from one place to another.
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| Swimming Pool Heating Cooling |
- Calorex Heat Pump
- Calorex Heating Cooling System
- Certikin Heating Cooling
- Astral AHP Heat Pump
This is something the prospective purchaser must be aware of because Astral heat pumps have a drawback. Electric Aqua heat pumps take heat from the air and transfer it to the pool water so as the air temperature drops so does their efficiency. In fact, once the air temperature hits around the 45 degrees F mark, they stop working and can even freeze up!
When comparing different brands for efficiency it is very important to make sure the COP is calculated under the same conditions for each pump.
How Does A Heat Pump Work?
If you have a refrigerator or a non-evaporative air conditioner you already have a heat pump. In fact, a car radiator is a heat pump. In basic terms, you are using a liquid or gas to pick up the heat at one point then pumping it to a radiator (or heat exchanger) and releasing it. A fridge is moving heat from inside the box and pumping it to a radiator outside the box where it goes into the air -- that is why there is heat around the outside of your fridge.
So a swimming pool heat pump will take heat from the surrounding air and move it via refrigerant gas and a compressor to a heat exchanger releasing the heat into the pool water flowing around it. The cooled gas travels on through piping back to where it started and picks up more heat and so on. This is also called a "closed loop" because the gas keeps on travelling around it.
Should I Purchase A Heat Pump?
This is a more difficult question to answer. There are reasons for using heat pumps and there are reasons for opting for a gas or solar heater. The main question you need to ask is will you want to heat your pool water when the air temperature drops below the 45 to 50 degrees F mark? If so then leave it - your best bet is probably a pool gas heater. Will a solar pool heater extend your swimming season enough? If you have space, a solar system may be best even though it could cost more to purchase initially.
A pool heat pump will heat your pool water on demand so you don't have to worry about overcast weather as you do with a solar system. Usually, you would set the required water temperature and the heat pump will run as needed to keep to that temperature. They can be used to heat a pool from cold if you only want to use the pool occasionally but gas heaters are better at this.
They are easy to operate and install requiring some easy PVC plumbing and an electrical connection (use a contractor for that) and do not take up a lot of space.
There are above ground electric pool heaters available as well as in-ground models.
What Is The Cost Of A Heat Pump?
The initial purchase cost will be somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000 depending largely on the heating capacity (measured in BTUs). A larger heating capacity will result in quicker heat-from-cold times but will add more to your power bill. The running cost is about half that of a gas pool heater. The running cost can be reduced by about 60 to 80% if you use a pool cover. Pool covers not only help keep debris out but keep water in by reducing evaporation. Evaporation accounts for around 80% of pool heat loss so installing a pool cover should be very high on your to-do list! Depending on where you live you could expect your power bill to increase by about $700 to $2,000 per year without a pool cover or $100 to $400 if you use a cover.
Heat pumps do have quite a few moving and electrical parts so it is a good idea to have them serviced yearly to get the best efficiency and lifespan out of them. Your maintenance manual will usually have a recommended maintenance schedule. With proper maintenance, they should last 10 years or more. The proper balance of your pool chemicals is vital otherwise damage could result and efficiency will drop.
In conclusion, do a little homework before you commit to one type of pool heater over another. They can all sound great on paper but a little thought about your particular needs and situation could help you make the right decision. Heat pumps have some great advantages to consider and some disadvantages too.
For more information about heat pumps please visit this information page or for general information about the various methods available for pool heating, please visit my pool heating website and help yourself make the right decision the first time.
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