Are you finding your pool is becoming more expensive to maintain and operate? Do you find yourself adding more chemicals, running the pump longer or having to clean the filter more often? Read this article to find out how to reduce your pool running costs.
Well the good news is there are many options available to help reduce the operating costs of your swimming pool.
Testing and balancing your pool chemistry is most essential to minimizing the operating costs of your pool. You don’t want to be adding additional chemicals or try to remove an algae bloom.
Most pool owners find a pool cover is the best return on your investment as the savings in water evaporation, chemicals and less filtration will easily pay for the cover over a three year period.
If you really want to save electricity and the planet install a solar panel system on your roof. You will save money and may even make money from your electricity bill.
Table of Contents
How to Reduce Your Pool Running Costs
Balance Your Pool Chemistry
The prevention is always better than the cure. The simplest and best way to save money on your pool running costs is to always follow your maintenance routine and keep the pool water chemistry balanced. Once the chemistry gets out of balance you will have all sorts of problems to deal with costing you more.
The most frequently forgotten chemical is cyanuric acid or pool stabilizer. This chemical must be manually added to the pool and is essential to your water chemistry because it binds to chlorine to prevent the chlorine from quickly evaporating in hot weather. This increases the effective lifespan of the chlorine to better sanitize your pool. If the chlorine level drops to low your pool is fully exposed to algae spores and bacteria.
By keeping your pool chemistry balanced you will avoid these problems:
- Algae
- green water
- cloudy water
- chlorine not sanitizing the water
- marks on the pool surface
- water stinging your eyes
- smelly water
- dirt laying on the bottom
- and more…
Regularly Clean the Filter
If your filter is dirty the filtration system will be inefficient. The water flow through your filter is reduced causing poor filtration, increased load on the pump and requiring running the pump for a longer time to clean the pool. Don’t forget to empty the skimmer basket and check the pump basket as well.
So it’s very important to stick to your regular maintenance schedule and clean the filters.
If the filter is old and becoming harder to clean replace it with a new one.
If you have a cleaning robot or suction crawler don’t forget to clean it and service it. They have many rubber or gel-like fittings that tend to wear out quickly so check these cleaners frequently for splits or worn parts.
Please read our post on How to Clean a Pool Cartridge Filter
Add Pool Chemicals at Night
It’s a smart idea to add pool chemicals at night so they are not burned off by the heat and ultraviolet light from the sun. The chemicals last longer at night and you will find you need less chemicals which saves money.
Chlorine is easily destroyed and rendered ineffective by the sun especially if your cyanuric acid (stabilizer) level is low.
It is recommended that pool owners run the pump twice or three times a day. Once early morning to prepare the pool for the day, midday and once late evening for a few hours to clean the pool after usage. In a salt-water pool, running the pump twice or three times a day helps to produce chlorine more evenly throughout the day and eliminate a daily spike of chlorine production.
If you run the pump several times a day, including some time at night, you will need to run the pump less time overall saving money.
Run the Filter at Night
Firstly, when you add pool chemicals at night you will need to run the pump to mix the chemicals through the water. When a pump is installed it is selected to have the capacity to turn over the entire contents of the pool in 8 to 12 hours. So running the pump for, say, 4 hours will mix up the water enough to fully dissolve the chemicals.
The second reason to run the pump at night is that you can have the pump connected to the off-peak electricity supply which is cheaper than the daytime rate.
Filter Usage to Reduce Your Pool Running Costs
During the off season of late fall, winter and early spring you can usually run the filter for less hours per day. Even with less hours this will still filter the water enough to maintain a sparkling clean pool.
Install a New Energy-Efficient Pump
Pump technology has vastly improved over the years. The new pumps are smaller, more powerful, more energy efficient, quieter and have variable speed operation to match the required usage.
By installing a new pump you will run the pump shorter hours, save electricity and reduce the noise level around your home. But most importantly your pool will have clean, sparkling water again.
Install a Pool Cover
A pool cover has many benefits to reduce your pool running costs.
Obviously, the cover will keep the pool cleaner by preventing leaves, dirt and other debris from entering the water. This will safe your filter and reduce the pump running time.
A cover will dramatically reduce water evaporation from the pool preserving your expensive pool chemicals and reduce the need to top up the pool with tap water.
If you heat your pool a cover will retain heat overnight cutting your daily heating costs.
Are worried about pool safety? You can install a person proof cover to prevent people falling into the pool.
Landscaping to Reduce Your Pool Running Costs
If you have large trees overhanging the pool, gardens with many leafy plants or a grass lawn near your pool the water may easily become soiled with leaves and debris, especially when it’s windy or raining.
You can reduce this problem by:
- Trimming tree branches near the pool
- Adding decorative gravel to your gardens to reduce soil blowing into the pool
- Laying extra paving around the pool
- Replacing lawn near the pool with artificial grass.
- Replacing plants that drop leaves with evergreen plants.
Screen Your Pool from the Wind & Sun
There are many landscaping options available to help screen your pool from the weather to reduce water evaporation and debris entering the water.
- Build a pergola or gazebo next to the pool
- Install shade cloth over part of the pool and patio
- Install additional fencing as a wind break
- Increase the height of existing fencing with decorative panels
- Install a glass pool fence around the pool or part of the pool.
Install LED Lighting
Modern LED pool lighting has many benefits:
- Lower power consumption but more light
- Up to 80% less electricity than incandescent or halogen light bulbs
- LED lights are smaller and fit existing fittings
- Emits a better quality of light that is easier on the eyes.
- Emits much less heat
- Lasts much longer, usually over 15 years.
Install Solar Panels on the Roof
If you really want to save electricity and the planet think about installing a solar panel system on your roof. This will not only power your pool pump but your whole house. The most effective systems include a battery that is charged up during the day to power the household during the evening and night. Any excess power is fed back into the power grid and used by other households. The power company pays you for the electricity that you have generated. Many people find they have no power bill. Some people even receive a credit on their electricity bill as they generated more power than they used.
Typically, these solar systems are more suited to warmer climates but can still operate well in the summer months in cool temperate regions. You can normally return your investment in under 5 years.
Heating Your Pool to Reduce Your Pool Running Costs
You can save a lot of money with pool heating by changing the setting on your timer and thermostat to only heat the pool when you use it. For example, if you only use the pool in the weekend set your timer for heating on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.
Also, many people set the temperature too high. If you can reduce the temperature by only one degree this will save lots off your power bill.
If you have a gas or LPG style water heater you may consider changing to electricity as it’s far cheaper to operate. Also, if you switch to solar power you will need an electric water heater to make the most of the free power from the sun.
Please read our post on How to Make Your Pool More Eco-Friendly
Conclusion
You pool has become more expensive to operate. However, once you have implemented some of the above suggestions you should be well on your way to saving money and operating your pool more efficiently.
Check out our other posts on this site to help you better manage your pool maintenance and reduce the time and effort to operate your pool. After all, you want to spend more time in your pool rather than maintaining it.