I need a pool heater!

[Poolsean]

Consider how long you want to heat your pool also. Year around pool use may not be practical if the outside air temps are into the 20's and 30's. Who realistically goes out in a bathing suit when it's that cold?
We've successfully installed heat pumps in the northeast US for many years. Again, there are limitations as all heaters will reduce efficiency when it gets cold. However, you should know that the most efficient gas heaters (forced air induction types) are about 90% efficient, with most of the rest of the gas heaters being about 70% efficient. That reduces the amount of BTU's being produce.
The 100,000 BTU's of gas that you're paying for is only giving you 70,000 BTUs (or 90,000 BTUs with the efficient gas heaters) in return.
Heat Pumps give you 500 to 600 times the investment cost to heat the water and are the most cost effective for consistent heat.
Solar is even more efficient, but is inconsistent on overcast or cloudy days, or operated at night time.

To look at it another way, you can actually afford to KEEP your pool heated using a heat pump for less than the cost of a gas heater being used to heat
it on demand (when you want to use it). The pool is always ready for swimming with a heat pump.
Benefit to gas? Because you can get gas heaters with copious amounts of BTUs, 400,000 BTUs for the largest residential gas heater, you can heat the water faster when you want to use it.

As ChemGeek mentioned, a solar cover is a worthwhile investment, if you use it. Most pool owners, depending on the size of their pool, will used a solar cover the first month, but then decide to just leave it off to avoid the hassle.

Venting with a gas heater is very important and I support the cautions that ChemGeek mentioned. By the way, that's where the other 30% of inefficient heating BTUs go, out the vent in wasted heat.

Hope this helps.

[towney]

Consider how long you want to heat your pool also. Year around pool use may not be practical if the outside air temps are into the 20's and 30's. Who realistically goes out in a bathing suit when it's that cold?
We've successfully installed heat pumps in the northeast US for many years. Again, there are limitations as all heaters will reduce efficiency when it gets cold. However, you should know that the most efficient gas heaters (forced air induction types) are about 90% efficient, with most of the rest of the gas heaters being about 70% efficient. That reduces the amount of BTU's being produce.
The 100,000 BTU's of gas that you're paying for is only giving you 70,000 BTUs (or 90,000 BTUs with the efficient gas heaters) in return.
Heat Pumps give you 500 to 600 times the investment cost to heat the water and are the most cost effective for consistent heat.
Solar is even more efficient, but is inconsistent on overcast or cloudy days, or operated at night time.

To look at it another way, you can actually afford to KEEP your pool heated using a heat pump for less than the cost of a gas heater being used to heat
it on demand (when you want to use it). The pool is always ready for swimming with a heat pump.
Benefit to gas? Because you can get gas heaters with copious amounts of BTUs, 400,000 BTUs for the largest residential gas heater, you can heat the water faster when you want to use it.

As ChemGeek mentioned, a solar cover is a worthwhile investment, if you use it. Most pool owners, depending on the size of their pool, will used a solar cover the first month, but then decide to just leave it off to avoid the hassle.

Venting with a gas heater is very important and I support the cautions that ChemGeek mentioned. By the way, that's where the other 30% of inefficient heating BTUs go, out the vent in wasted heat.

Hope this helps.

What is venting?
Thanx

[Poolsean]

Venting is controlling and directing the discharge exhaust from the heater so that, as Chem Geek said, the carbon monoxide doesn't flow towards the home or where it can be inhaled; or in the case of a heat pump, so the cooler exhaust air doesn't recycle around to the evaporator coil.

[chem geek]

Actually, it was Poconos (Al) that made the comment about the venting, but I'll take credit for someone else's intelligent comment any day!

[CarlD]

I did not suggest a heat pump because I assumed you wanted to use a pool in far lower temps than I would consider (unless it was an indoor pool). I totally use solar, but were I to install an active heater it would be a heat pump, just a Sean suggests.

Heat pumps got a lot of bad press when they were used incorrectly as whole-house heating systems in too-harsh environments. While a heat pump works INCREDIBLY efficiently from the mid-40's and above, they fall off in efficiency rapidly below that (Sean can probably get the exact figures). But when freezing temps hit, heat pumps fail completely and fall back on electrical resistance heating, the most expensive and inefficient means. Houses and town houses that use them in those circumstances tend to be chilly.

So heat pumps were installed in lots of town house and houses in the Northern Virginia and Maryland area around DC, where they were the WRONG system for the region--it usually gets far too cold even there for heat pumps. When we bought in that area, back in the late 80's, we specifically looked for a community being built with furnace/AC units rather than heat pumps.

I don't know why heat pumps aren't the standard throughout Florida rather than A/C. When they get those cold snaps that always seem to catch them by surprise, the heat pump would be the PERFECT solution as it is essentially a reversable A/C unit.

Yet for most pool owners, a heat pump is a marvelous solution. There's less installation, just elec, not elec & gas. They pay for themselves quickly in reduced cost of operations, and they are in their IDEAL operating range at temps most people want to swim. From 60 to 80, a heat pump's going to be super-efficient at heating your water. Even from the mid 40's through the 50's it should work well. Below that, well, if it was me, I wouldn't be swimming anyway!

Still, if you are planning on using your pool when it's in the freezing and below range, a heat pump won't work and you'll need to go to gas heat. But still, I think for that an enclosure will be necessary. It's not like a 105 deg hot tub.

[MarkC]

I Have a heat pump and love it(I live in PA). With that said it's pretty useless at 50 degree air temps.

[CarlD]

I Have a heat pump and love it(I live in PA). With that said it's pretty useless at 50 degree air temps.

Took me 20 times the space to say the same thing!