Dive into Efficiency with Union Power

July 22, 2023

Everyone wants to save money, especially sitting by the pool and soaking up the sun, but don’t worry; your local cooperative has you covered in providing resources and tools for some much-needed relaxation in your backyard paradise. Owning a pool doesn’t have to be expensive, time-consuming, or a huge waste of energy.

Take a minute to soak up these tips to improve your pool’s energy efficiency.  

Practice Regular Pool Maintenance

1. Clogged filters force pool pumps to work even harder to circulate water. The cleaner you keep your pool, the less filtration is required. Try to keep a goal to filter all the water once daily.
   1. Swimming pools lose energy in numerous ways, but evaporation is the largest source of energy loss. Covering a pool when  not in use effectively reduces water loss through evaporation and saves up to 50%–70% on your pool heating costs.

Consider using a Pool Pump with Energy Efficient Variable Speeds Pool pumps are vital to performing many functions in your pool. Knowing and understanding what type of pool pump you have and how they function is essential in saving you money. There are three types of pumps: single-speed, two-speed, and variable-speed.

• Single-speed pool pumps operate at only one speed to power all pool functions – even those that do not require as much power. Single-speed pumps, by design, can’t change their flow rate, so they must be sized correctly to perform.
• Two-speed pool pumps operate at only two-speed choices; full speed (100%) or half-speed (50%). They are designed for only two-speed because it is difficult to fine-tune the flow rates required for maximum energy savings. However, when running at half-speed, the pump can provide significant energy savings while still having the ability to run at full speed when more water flow is needed.
• Variable-speed pool pumps operate over various speeds and can be “dialed-in” to the specific speeds needed for different functions such as basic circulation, heating, spa use, etc. These pumps allow homeowners to achieve the ideal filtration flow rate with the least energy consumption. If you set your pump to the lowest speed at night to maintain healthy filtration, use the other speeds when cleaning or heating.

Optimize Pump Time

Setting your pool pump on a timer can become very convenient and helpful, especially if you are busy or always away. We recommend putting pool pumps on timers for 8-10 hours daily run times, depending on the pool size, to help circulate the water. We also recommend setting your pump and system to run during the late evening/early morning hours to save energy.