How do make my pool, spa or hot tub more energy-efficient?
Purchasing and installing a pool, spa or hot tub is a significant investment. Then there are the expenses of circulating and heating the water — the two major ongoing costs of enjoying a pool, spa or hot tub. Here are some energy efficiency tips and tools that will help you save money over time.
Improve the energy performance of your pool, spa or hot tub
- Keep your pool, spa or hot tub covered when not in use. Uncovered, pools, spas and hot tubs can lose 30% of their heat. Also, more than 10,000 litres of water and expensive chemicals can be lost every month, just through evaporation.
- Consider using a solar cover to heat the water's surface.
- Use a variable-speed pool pump which allows you to run the pump at different speeds to match your pool operation, rather than running at top speed all the time.
- Annually inspect the heater on your pool, spa or hot tub for scale, mineral deposits and corrosion.
Use timers to save electricity on your electric-heated pools
- If your pool is above ground and heated with electricity, install a heavy-duty timer to run your pump and heater when needed. This timer must be plugged into a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet located a minimum of 3 metres (10 feet) from your pool. We recommend that a Licensed Electrical Contractor (certified by the Electrical Safety Authority or ESA) or a qualified pool service provider install your timer.
- Make sure that an ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor installs a hard-wired timer on the heater for your inground pool or your spa or hot tub.
- For more information about energy conservation for your pool, spa or hot tub, please contact the Pool and Hot Tub Council of Canada at (800) 879-7066 or visit their website.
Get expert help for your gas-heated pools
- If your pool is heated with gas, do not use a heavy-duty timer. Since gas pool heaters reach a much higher temperature than electric ones, turning off the pump when there is residual heat from the gas heater could damage some of the plastic pipes or fixtures. A gas-heated pool requires a sophisticated timer that can turn off the heater 20 minutes earlier than the pump.
- For more information, please call the Pool and Hot Tub Council of Canada at (800) 879-7066 or visit their website.