Everything You Need to Know About Pool Heaters

If you have wanted to extend your swimming season, then you’ve probably been thinking about installing a heater for your swimming pool.

To help you select the right heater for your pool and area, we’ve listed a few facts about swimming pool heaters that you should know and understand.

Pool heaters are designed to help set the temperature of your pool water to a comfort degree. Many experts strongly recommend a temperature of approximately 78 degrees, however, most individuals desire warmer water temperatures, even as warm as 80 degrees.

Some people will argue that a pool heater is simply a waste of money, because the sun can and will heat your pool. While it is true that the sun can heat your pool water to 78° during the summer, having a pool heater allow you to expand your swimming season, allowing you to get more exercise and use out of your pool each year. For individuals living in northern climates, having a pool heater may expand their swimming season to twice as long, while those living in southern climates may even see their swimming season triple.

It is recommended that you use a pool cover with a pool heater to help prevent heat loss, and help maintain the temperature. A good insulating pool cover can help reduce heat loss by as much as 50% or more, which will help on your energy bills.

When deciding on the right heater for your pool, possibly the most popular are gas-fired heater, which uses LP gas. One reason for the popularity of this type of heater is that it is less expensive to purchase as well as to operate. Another type of pool heater is oil-fired, which are perfect for areas where LP gas is limited. There are also several pool heaters, which operate on electricity. However, these are more expensive to purchase, operate, and maintain.

Lastly, there are solar pool heaters, which conserves energy, especially when you consider that the sun provides free heat. However, there are some disadvantages with solar pool heaters, starting with their initial cost. Solar swimming pool heaters are the most expensive type of pool heaters to purchase. In addition, the solar collection area of the heater should equal the pool’s surface area. Unfortunately, most urban homeowners do not have sufficient space for the required size of the solar heater. Another disadvantage is that solar pool heaters require an electric pool pump to carry water to the solar panels. This adds additional cost to the overall operation expense of solar swimming pool heaters.