Swimming pools are typically known for water waste, chemical use, energy consumption, and lots of work – not exactly a picture of “green” or efficiency. However, today’s technology is allowing for a much “greener” way to enjoy your pool and make it more environmentally friendly.
I came across an article in the Health & Science section of The Sunday Times Newspaper that, for 2 pages, addresses the importance of updating home swimming pools to make them more efficient and help save you money!
Pool owners can save up to $700 per year by changing some outdated equipment. One switch that can be made is to get rid of the normal chlorine filtration system for a salt-chlorine generator. This system converts the salt into chlorine to kill bacteria, the same way that the chemical chlorine does, but with added benefits!
- Chlorine and other chemicals can cost up to $500 per year compared to buying a bag of salt.
- Salt-based chlorine is gentler on hair, skin, and eyes.
- Salt chlorine is also gentler on the pool liner, which can cost up to $3000 to replace.
Pumping systems are what keeps the pool water relatively free of dirt, debris, and bacteria. The pumps that most of us still have run continuously, accounting for up to half of your utility bill in the summer months. Replacing the standard pump system with a variable speed pump can save as much as 90% in utility costs!
There are a couple of options to heat your pool, some better than others. If your pool heater is more than 5 years old, think about upgrading to a high-efficiency gas heater. Gas heaters produce five times more BTU’s with less gas. Another option is a geothermal heat pump which can save up to 80 percent in energy use compared to a gas heater.
With the hot summer days we’ve been experiencing in The Lehigh Valley for over a month now, anyone who has a pool knows how refreshing it is to take a dip to cool off, but most don’t think about the added strain our swimming pools put on the environment.
If all residential pools were upgraded to reduce pumping energy by one-third, and all heated pools were upgraded to reduce heating energy by one-third, the total annual savings would be more than $360 million and carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by at least 3 million tons.
Enjoy your pool this summer and make it environmentally friendly by upgrading to improve efficiency! Does anyone have other tips to improve your pool’s energy consumption?
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