How can we make a swimming pool more energy efficitent and environmentally friendly?

Question

We are looking for some alternative options for our new swimming pool. Does anybody know anything about solar power, environmentally friendly cleaners, or anything else that might be helpful and healthy?

Answer 1

I know of three ways to clean the bacteria out of water.

1.chlorine

2.salt

3.ultraviolet light.

I'm sure you can guess which is the most environmentally friendly.

Research

Answer 2

well one way is to put solar pannels by it (because the sun is attracted to water) and use that energy to power the pool filter & maybe the heater.

Answer 3

Turn off the heat.......

I hope you like blue lips.

Answer 4

Ozonators to  replace chlorine or bromine are your first step. There is some power consumption at the pool, comparable to the energy needed to pull that chlorine out of salt.

You can use your pool as a heat sink, heat-pumping the heat from your home to cool the house. You can also use the pool as a heat source to heat the house when it turns cool in  fall.

The single most energy efficient device to save on heating costs is cold tolerance. If you decide to be like a Canadian and love the cold, tolerate temperatures 15 degrees lower, then your heating costs are but a fraction of  full comfort temperatures.

Solar heating... most of the time you can get better dollar economy with  a heat pump if you are also using a heat pump to heat or cool a house. But if you build a solar heating system for your house, you can make it do double duty for your pool. It is costly to build a solar heating system for just the pool and leave it unused most of the year.

Answer 5

We use the following:

solar (you can make yourself)

ozone generator

salt (to chlorine) generator

Answer 6

fill it with soil and have a garden

Answer 7

I hope you have a large in ground pool, maybe gunite construction.

You could forgo all the ozone and salt equipment since they are all energy hogs that require longer pump run times to work well.  Salt pools pollute the water systems when they are pumped out for maintenance and dilution.

I would look at your pump, likely a single speed pump.  Variable speed pumps made by Pentair, www.pentairpool.com see VS or VF 3050.

These pumps can save you 30% on electrical costs since they only work as hard as needed to do the job.  Plumbing size on older pools can limit performance on the top end but you need to weigh this before replacing.

I hate to say it but a solid pool cover, hopefully one totally perimeter secured will pervent water evaporation, minimize heat loss, chemical loss, and will keep your pets and people from falling in the pool.  Unfortunately, they cost a lot, and can prevent you from seeing the condition of the pool as it goes south to frog pond land.

People say, you don't need a fully secured cover and they are right but unsecured covers blow off, entrap people and pets who fall on them but do all the other stuff mentioned above but cost less.

Solar only adds two months to your regular swim season and does not really work in the winter.  I think in Southern California the biggest benefit to them is to cool your hot pool down in August.  To do this you run your pump at night and run the hot pool water up on the display on the roof to radiate it to the cooler atmosphere.

If you have a large roof area you might see more benefit to cover it with photovoltaic panels and sell the juice to the utility.

You're welcome!!