How can you save money and energy in your pool?

Summer temps have been pretty low this year, but there have been a few days here and there that the temps are too much to handle.  Cranking up the AC helps, but that only works if you’re at home and don’t mind getting an outrageous bill at the end of the month. If you’re trying to stay cool,  take a dip in a pool. Owning your own swimming pool is a great addition to any home, but it can definitely be pricey to maintain. After years of pool hopping during the summer, we decided to put in a swimming pool at our house. We figured it would be great exercise for the kids, a great way to keep cool all summer and we are always entertaining friends. Although it’s an expensive investment, there are ways you can prevent a huge spike in your energy consumption and bills when owning a pool. These 5 Energy Savings Tips for Swimming Pools will help you cut back spending while enjoying your pool.

1. Use A Solar Cover

Using a pool cover or solar blanket is the most effective way to heat your pool without using energy and it helps to keep the heat from escaping your pool at night. A cover will also reduce evaporation rates. Did you know that uncovered pools can lose up to a thousand gallons of water from evaporation each month?  

If you already have a pool heater that you’re happy with, try turning it off if you’re going on vacation or know that the pool won’t be used during the week. We only turn on our heater on when temps drop.

 

2. Shock Your Swimming Pool Every Week

Keeping up with maintenance and testing your water regularly are two of the best ways to control pool expenses. Shocking your pool every week helps maintain a healthy and clear pool, which will prevent your pool from turning green or cloudy.

 

3. Use A Robotic Pool Cleaner

If you dread cleaning the pool by hand (me raising hand) and want to avoid the expense of hiring a professional, have your automatic vacuum do the work. Robotic pool cleaners are self-contained units that run off electricity and can clean an entire swimming pool faster than you. Plus, they collect all kinds of debris in their fine mesh filter bags, which are so easy to rinse out after use. These filter bags also filter the water, so running the robotic cleaner while the filter and pump are not running, you are actually saving money since it costs much less to run a small pool cleaner than it does to run your filter system. You can help your vacuum work better by skimming leaves regularly and brushing the walls by hand. Clean the skimmer basket frequently to improve efficiency.

 

4. Use an Automatic Timer

One thing that we didn’t want is to forget to run the filter or forget to turn off the filter that’s why we got an automatic timer. We are always on the go with the kids and there are some days that we just don’t get in the pool (maybe cause it’s been raining all the time here in PA). It helps easily manage the pool pump and not worrying about missing a day here and there.  You can also save energy by running your pool pump during the off peak hours (during the night) since most electric companies peak hours are from 7:00am to 7:00 pm.

 

5. Think Outside the Pool

While the pool itself can be a drain on resources, it’s a good idea to rethink the area around your pool, too. For example, consider installing energy-efficient lighting in the pool area, use energy-efficient LED or fluorescent lights in place of incandescent lights. *According to ENERGY STAR, qualified ENERGY STAR bulbs use up to 75 percent less energy and last up to 20 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. .

Adding a windbreak (like shrubs or a fence) can help decrease heat loss from the wind, but keep the beneficial solar energy of the sun. Protect the pool from the wind by planting hedges or building a solid fence around the pool area, reducing evaporation and heat loss. We added arborvitae trees around the pool to help with the wind.  What are some of your energy saving tips for swimming pools?