Well thanks for all the responses, I'm in SoCal BTW.

Concerning solar panels:
My ONLY option is to face them North or horizontally flat along a 11'x11' patio cover, certainly not large enough for most panels I assume. Therefore this option is probably kaput, sorry to say.

Concerning heat pumps:
The heat pump option is intriguing. They're costly but from what I've read, very cost efficient over time, like waterbear indicated. However if I have to run it simultaneously with my central air, the costs could be staggering.... not to mention the load it might put on our system.

On the other hand, I still have this rusted Purex "Tropical Isle" C180W gas heater that's about 15 years old. It came with this house we bought last year. I ran it once for about 30 seconds just to see if it would come on... it did. God only knows what that would cost to run though. It's rated output is 135,000 BTU/Hour... whatever that means.

Basically my family swims during the summer months only (June through Sept.). We're not water rats though... maybe four times a week tops.

I hope I've covered everything. You guys have been really helpful!
Jon