Heat Your Pool Water With A Heat Pump

Aside from warming and cooling houses and buildings, heat pumps can also heat a pool. And even though these pumps rely on ambient air and underground heat to warm a pool, it can heat small to large size pools. Also since heat pumps are more energy efficient and have lower maintenance cost, they are recommended for everybody who wants to do laps and stay in their pool even during colder times.

In order to function properly, these pumps should have complete parts like the evaporator coil, compressor, heat exchange condenser, expansion valve and fan. These parts along with the refrigerant in the coils heat the water in the pool. The evaporator coil act as a collector of heat, the refrigerant that flows inside the coils transforms into gas and goes onto the compressor where the gas is pressurized.

The intensified heated gas is then transferred to the heat exchange condenser, which will heat the cold water from the pool. The refrigerant will then turn into liquid that will pass through the expansion valve and into the evaporator coil once again to repeat the process. The hot air inside the heat pump is removed by the fan.

The pool heat pump has two pipes; one pipe collects the cold water that will pass through the heat exchanger and will be released into the other pipe as hot water. This process continues until the whole pool is warmed up.

This kind of pool pump works perfectly if the temperature is higher than 45 degrees. However this seems not to be a big problem since most people use their outdoor pools when temperature is mild and gentle. A pool heating pump also comes with a temperature controller which controls water temperature. Some units have five to ten year warranty on their products.

There are two kinds of pool heating pumps; the air source pumps and the water source pumps. Among the two, the air source heat pump is more commonly used as it operates by using ambient air while the water source operates by using heat generated from wells, rivers and lakes.

Water source heat pumps are commonly used during special occasions because of its difficult installation process. However both pumps are efficient and have low maintenance costs. These type of pumps are environment friendly and can last from 10 to 25 years, even more when maintained properly and regularly.

Pool heating pumps also have its disadvantages. They are initially considered to be more expensive than gas heaters, but in the long run these pumps are cheaper because one does not have to pay $30 per month for gas. It is sustainable and only uses ambient air to operate.

Another disadvantage is the temperature limit, the pump can only function well when temperature is under 45 degrees, therefore it is not recommended for heating indoor pools when temperature outside is lower. These types of pumps are indeed a better alternative in heating pools however it is best to know if it fits the conditions properly.