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I am looking for a heater for our 24' round ag pool. I am not looking for propane, just the kind that uses electricity. (can you tell I know nothing about this topic??) I live in PA, so this will get much use as our pool loses the sun about 5:00 in the summer.
Thanks,
Chris
Hello BlondieChris,
Our Aerotemp heat pumps have been used for many years in the Northeastern US.
www.aquacal.com
Please consider the use of a solar cover to help reduce heat losses overnight, which will help with the efficiency of the heater.
Things to look for with heat pumps:
Heat Exchanger material - most are copper but many companies are going to Titanium, which is virtually impervious to chemical attack, and last longer. However, titanium is not as good a conductor of heat as copper, but certain designs make it as good (such as our Thermolink heat exchanger).
COP - Coefficiency of Performance, which is an indication of how efficient the heat pump is. Numbers higher than 5.0 is good. However, our heat pump industry is loosely regulated and many claims of greater than 7.0 COP is all marketing schemes and mostly under unrealistic conditions for heat pump operation. There is a move by some states to test and publish COPs under controlled conditions, in our case, it's ARL standard 1160-2008, found here.
http://ari.org/ARI/util/showdoc.aspx?doc=526
To summarize, previous testing was usually done at 80 degrees air temp, 80% relative humidity, and 80 degrees water temperature.
This standard tests at 80, 63, 50, more realistic conditions of operation.
Florida, for one, requires that at the lower air temperature conditions (which is more common for the heat pump to be operating), the heat pump must have an efficiency of at least 4.0.
BTU Output - corresponds with COP and can be marketed at extremely high BTU outputs. Compare BTUs under the same conditions (air temp, relative Humidity, water temp).
Hope this helps.
My Aerotemp heat pump will only raise the pool temperature a few degrees per day, so it takes several days at the beginning of the year to get the pool warm enough to swim. My friend's propane heater raises his pool temp 2 degrees per hour. If I had it to do over again, I would get propane rather than a heat pump. The propane heater was also less expensive. A heat pump may be cheaper to operate, but I need to run it constantly, so I have doubts.
I've used a Heat Siphon for our AG pool in northwest Washington state for a couple of years now. True, you have to run it a lot to get up to temperature. However, once at temp. it maintains our pool nicely. We're swimming in 90 degree water while the air temperature is only in the mid 60's right now. Up front cost was a lot, but it only costs us about 35 dollars a month to heat our pool during the summer (we have a pretty short season and in western Washington you have to heat even in the summer).
If you're looking for a quick temperature spike, propane or natural gas is better. But if you're patient and want to save a lot of money over time, the heat pump is great. Good luck whichever way you decide.
I have a Jandy (the AE2500) and love it. Third season and it works great. Only advice is you can't go too big.