Pool Heaters

A swimming pool heater is a vital piece of equipment for most outdoor swimming pools. It adds value to the pool by extending the amount of time that can be comfortably spent in the pool, irrespective of the season and the outdoor temperature.

The big benefit of pool heaters is that they can make a pool usable in seasons where the ambient air and water temperature would normally make swimming unpleasant.

Swimming pool heaters come with a variety of different power sources, outputs, and applications. This means that whatever your pool configuration and size, there will always be a pool heater to suit your requirements. Outdoor pool heaters are available for not only below-ground pools, but also for above-ground and semi-above-ground swimming pools. They are a versatile and practical item of pool equipment and they add "real value" to the usability of any pool, large or small.

The cost of a pool heater

Many outdoor swimming pools are not utilized to their optimum because their owners are wrongly scared off by the perceived costs of adding a heater to the swimming pool set-up. Obviously all pool heaters have an initial purchase cost along with a fitting charge and these costs are supplemented by the ongoing energy usage of running the heater.

The good news is that, with most modern pool heaters, all of these initial and ongoing running costs may be considerably less than many pool owners anticipate. The home pool market now sees many competing manufacturers, an extensive variety of pool heaters powered by different fuels and energies, plus increasingly low and energy efficient pool heater running costs.

In simple terms there has never been a better time, or a cheaper time, to buy an efficient swimming pool heater. Modern pool heaters make a good and "value returning" investment, they are economic and efficient to run and often surprisingly cheap to buy.

Different types of swimming pool heater

A few years ago it was only possible to buy pool heaters for expensive below-ground swimming pools, but now there are pool heaters available for budget priced above-ground pools too.

The home pool market is expanding and so are the number and variety of swimming pool heaters that can work with them. Some of these heaters are designed to heat small pools, whilst others are intended for larger pools. Some heaters are effective at heating very cool water and raising its temperature by many degrees, whilst other heaters are better suited to a gradual heat increase and the retaining of the heat energy already contained within a pool.

Modern pool heater "energy sources" include, gas, oil and propane fired boilers and condensers that burn fossil fuels and provide fast heat up speeds, whatever the ambient air and water temperature. These heaters offer total versatility, but at a price. The more efficient condenser versions of some of these boilers are also available for swimming pool applications. These powerful pool heaters are generally suited to medium to large sized swimming pools.

• Compact, low output, and easy to connect electric heaters are ideal for above-ground swimming pools. These heaters have a limited heating and pump-through rate, but they are perfect for summer use when heating small free-standing pools. They can normally be connected and disconnected easily and quickly.
• Swimming pool heaters based around heat exchanger (or inverter) technology are seeing a rapid increase in popularity. These heat exchangers may be a component of a swimming pool heat pump, or work by taking energy from an existing power utility like a domestic boiler. When this is the case, they utilise a secondary power source and may even exploit what would otherwise become unused or wasted energy. Because of this, they can be "super efficient" to run and are very versatile when used with small to medium sized swimming pools.
• Solar powered pool heating systems have seen increased applications in outdoor swimming pool heating. Because most solar power collectors initially transfer the solar energy into water, this makes the heating of pool water a perfect application for solar panels and solar matting technology. Solar power also has a further "massive" advantage, once the matting (or panels), pipe work and fitting are complete, the energy source is absolutely free.

Choosing the right pool heater

The ideal type and power output of a pool's heater is determined by a range of factors that are unique to every pool and its users' swimming requirements. Physical characteristics like the size of the pool and its above or below ground construction are obvious features.

Critical factors to consider include

• The main periods (or seasons) and times of day during which the pool will be used
• The degree of continuous use of the pool (i.e. will the pool heater be left running for days or weeks at a time)
• The anticipated maximum temperature differential between the coolest unheated water temperature, versus the required swimming temperature (typically between 78 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit)

As a general guide, medium to large sized pools, that need to be heated quickly during any time of the year (and in any climate), need powerful versatile fossil fuel fired pool heaters. This normally means boilers or condensing boilers.

Small pools, that are primarily used in summer and need that extra boost of heat to raise the temperature by a few degrees, can use electric heaters, solar powered heaters, or heat exchanger heaters. These pool heaters can also work very well as energy efficient secondary heating systems. They do this by maintaining a temperature that has already been raised by one of the more powerful boiler or condenser type heaters. Combining two pool heating systems in this way can result in very efficient on-going running costs, but does have a higher initial outlay than that of using a single pool heater.

To find out about swimming pool heaters in greater detail, please use the index menus to the left and at the top of the page.