Advisability of retrofitting to a two speed pump

[mshumack]

i have 2HP 2-spd pump on a 20,000 gal IG pool. I can offer these observations:
Pool cleaner will not work on Low speed (I have a suction side cleaner, StaRite Great White).
The SWG will work fine on Low speed.
The water movement on Low speed is amost undetectable on the surface (so skimmer is not very effective on Low). I have to put my hand in front of return fitting to tell if water is moving.
There is not enough flow (accroding to panel light) to run Heat pump when pump is on Low.

I have an Automated Controler (IntelliTouch) that lets me program when the pump goes to high speed - such as when the cleaner is On or if Heater is On. I believe you mentioned that you have automed control as well so you should be fine in this respect.
Good Luck

[MarkC]

I also have a 2 speed pump (2.5 hp) that runs on low for 95% of the time. My pool sweep has a booster pump and this works fine on low. The heat pump usually does not have a problem on low speed but when the pump basket is getting filled with dog hair it sometimes won't start. The flow through my system on low is noticeable and the skimmers work fine.
For the person who has problems with the heat pump not running on low you can sometimes adjust the pressure switch in the heat pump or downsize the return eyeball size just a bit in one eyeball to create a little more back pressure.

[Sentient]

Thank you both for your observations. I am still hoping to hear from folks offerring pointers on how to estimate electricity savings, if any. It sounds like the pump is run on low for long periods of time, so I am not sure that actual power use is lower. I want to make sure I will be able to see a difference in my electric bill before proceeding.

My cleaner operates on the suction side, so it sounds like it won't run on low, which is fine, I can put in a valve controller and turn it off completely on low so all return is via skimmer and drains, and set it to optimum flow on high. The controller will just have to have a stop set in the optimum flow place. I hope they are available that way. It loooks like a little experimentation may be needed.

Our electricity is mostly natural gas based, so the prices are just getting higher and higher with no end in sight.

[mas985]

Sentient,

A two speed pump will nearly always save you money assuming you run the pump on low speed most of the time. If you go with the same HP pump but in two speeds, the lower speed will have about half the flow as high speed so the turnover is twice as long. This means you will have to run it twice as long on low speed than high speed for the same filtration. The power usage at low speed for some pumps is about 30% of high speed (60% reduction). But since your running the pump twice as long, you will save close to 30% of the power than high speed.

Even without the rebate, the savings would pay for the pump in about a year.

[Sentient]

Sentient,

A two speed pump will nearly always save you money assuming you run the pump on low speed most of the time. If you go with the same HP pump but in two speeds, the lower speed will have about half the flow as high speed so the turnover is twice as long. This means you will have to run it twice as long on low speed than high speed for the same filtration. The power usage at low speed for some pumps is about 30% of high speed (60% reduction). But since your running the pump twice as long, you will save close to 30% of the power than high speed.

Thank you, that helps a bunch. So now I just need to pick a pump. There is a two speed version of the pump I have now, so I presume plumbing it in should be relatively straightforward, the dimensions should be identical. I think I will go ahead and do it.

I thank you all for the quick feedback and great information.

Sentient

[cgc2]

How many gallons is your pool ?
A two speed pump will save you money. I have a 30k gallon in ground pool, running a Autopilot SWG (cell upsized for 60k gallon pool), and a Automatic Pool Cleaner (Dolphin).
I run a 1hp Pentair Whisperflow @ 4hrs high, 5 hrs low, and it keeps my water sparkling clean and with a Clorine level of 2.5-3.0 ppm.

BTW....I live on the other side of the Grapevine and work for the utility co. offering you that rebate.

[South_Texas_Sun]

We're just getting to the final stages of pool construction and we're going to be needing 3 pumps.

One for pool circulation, one for water features, and one for the spa.

I'm thinking that 2 speed pumps might be useful for the pool circulation, and spa (with some of the jets closed), but how about the water features?

We have 2 jandy two-foot sheer descents and a large grotto waterfall (2 inch pipe) that flows over the top of a cap rock and into the pool. Is a 2 horsepower pump an overkill for water features? I'd like to be able to let it run for the kids and I'm afraid that after I get our first pool-present electric bill, I'll be reluctant to let the kids play in it all the time when we don't have company or other special occasion.

You see, I'm somewhat of a .......(ahem)........cheapskate.

Thanks

[cgc2]

Well, "you gotta pay to play", and electricity production aint cheap anymore.
A 2 speed could work on the water feature , i.e., rock water fall, etc.
But to apply it to a shear decent...I dunno, I dont think your going to push enough volume of water when you drop to the lower rpm, so I would work with a high efficiency single speed if it were mine.

I have a 1.5 hp single speed on my 5 ft shear decent, and I control the volume of water on it with a valve.
I do notice on the electric bill when the wife and kids have been using it.

Pentair has a new Variable Frequency Drive pump that I think over time will have applications in water features. No doubt it will probably carry a hefty retail price.