Re: Best energy efficient pumps out there
I am running an Intelliflo, and three Whisper flows. I was really feeling like a bone head for spending so much for the Intelliflo, and the whole pool in General. I did get a small amount of relief after the Power companies raised our rates through the roof. Based on our current rates in North Texas I will recover the pump cost in 1 year and the additional cost for the Intellitouch Control system in 1 more year. Currently using approx 500 watts to get 50 GPM flow. This is a simple pump operation cost calculator provided by Pentair you might find handy.
http://www.pentairpool.com/pool_pump_calc/index.htm
The pump is a neat piece of equipment, if you live in CA I understand there are incentives that will help with the cost of the pump. Whisper flows are also very quiet. The intelliflo is extremely quiet, and this alone would be worth the additional cost if you have an area that you are noise sensitive. My friend is in the middle of a remodel and is going with this pump just because of how quiet it is.
Re: Best energy efficient pumps out there
Another option, especially in CA, is the IKERIC line of pumps. These are multi-speed pumps that use a controller to vary the speed at any of 4 settings. These are very much like the Intelli-flow, but possibly less expensive. These qualify for the CA rebates.
I am putting one in sometime this fall.