Just What Capacity Swimming Pool Heating Unit Do I Require?

An unheated swimming pool can only be used when the weather conditions are appropriate, so your utilization of your swimming pool may be significantly increased by putting in a pool heating unit. Swimming pool heaters are readily available from several different manufacturers and also in a selection of power capacities, which suggests that choosing the right one for you is not very easy.

Swimming pool heaters come in a selection of power capacities and you have to very carefully decide on the right one for your swimming pool. Whilst it is not too tough to work out the size of the swimming pool, there are other aspects which should be thought about which are more difficult to be specific about.

Heater capacity is quoted in BTUs per hour. As an example the Hayward H Series of natural gas-propane heaters ranges from 150,000 to 400,000 and Hayward heat pumps  vary from 50,000 to 140,000 (A BTU is the heat energy required to boost the temperature of one lb of water by one degree Fahrenheit.) Larger heaters often tend to be slightly more efficient yet there is no point in paying much more than you have to.

The points below need to be taken into account when sizing a pool heater:

• Swimming pool size - The area of the swimming pool area and also the gallons of water to be heated.
  
• Just how you will utilize the swimming pool? - Will you be heating up the swimming pool constantly or, for example, merely at holiday weekends? If you are heating up the swimming pool intermittently then you may need a larger capacity heater than if you are heating up the swimming pool continuously.
  
• Temperature rise wanted - Exactly what temperature do you want the water to be heated to and also exactly what is the air temperature in the coldest days during which you will be heating up the swimming pool?
  
• Kind of location of swimming pool - Is the swimming pool in a sheltered or exposed place? Wind is a big enemy of heated swimming pools since it increases evaporation and hence temperature loss. The swimming pool must be protected from the elements if at all possible.
  
• Will you use a pool cover? - Swimming pools that are not covered can easily lose 4°f  to 5°f through the night in most places. With a cover, you can easily lessen that heat energy loss by 50 % or even more.

Presuming common location factors, an overall indication of the requirements for a pool heater can easily be worked out as follows:
Swimming pool surface (in square feet) x Temperature increase wanted (in the coldest period) x 12

However no formula can easily take into account your particular location as well as usage factors. As a basic guideline, you are best advised to go for a somewhat higher capacity heating unit than you seem to need. It will definitely warm the water more rapidly and with reduced strain on its mechanics, which should help it last longer.