The Trick To Using Your Pool Heat Pump Effectively Is Picking The Right Time Of Day

While designing the perfect pool for your backyard, you'll want to consider how to keep the water warm and swimmable, especially if you live in a cooler climate. There are many cheap ways to heat your pool, and using a heat pump is one of the most popular. Since these use electricity to operate, you'll want to ensure you're maximizing the pump's efforts effectively to keep your pool warm at a cost that doesn't break the bank. One trick is to operate the heat pump during the right time of day — generally mid to late afternoon (or the warmest part of the day). This timing provides optimal conditions for heat pump operation since they work by transferring the warmth from the air surrounding the pool to the water versus generating heat directly.

It's important to note that since the sun's rays also directly heat the pool water, running the heat pump during the warmest part of the day will add to the direct solar gain. This means your heat pump won't need to work as hard to warm the water, so your electric bill won't feel the heat.

While choosing the right time of day is typically the best way to maximize the efficiency of your pool's heat pump, other factors must be considered. Pairing your pool's heat pump with a pool cover will help your heat pump maintain the desired temperature with less effort. That's because the pool cover helps reduce heat loss from the pool, which is especially beneficial during cooler nights. This is just one of the many reasons why covering your pool is worth the hassle — it will make it so that your heat pump doesn't need to work as often to keep your pool warm.

You must also consider your geographic environment. If you live in a state like Arizona or Nevada, where it's considerably hot most of the time, the time of day you run your heat pumps is less critical (since there's always an abundance of warmth to draw from). However, if you live in a cooler climate, you'll want to maximize the warmest times of the day.

Finally, you must consider the cost of electricity when using your pool's heat pump. Some electricity providers adjust the cost of electricity to be higher when demand is at its peak and lower it during less busy hours. If this is the case, you might consider using your pool heat pump during off hours — even though they might be later in the evening — to cut down on overall costs.