Your pool systems require water circulation in order to function at all and at the heart of the system is the pump. This is why it is crucial to have the best pump for the size and type of pool you have. If the pump is too small it will be difficult to maintain good water quality, if it is too big it can damage plumbing and equipment and waste energy. The pump’s main function is to circulate pool water through a filter to remove impurities and then a chlorinator to sanitize it. Pool pumps are powered by electric motors, traditional residential single speed ones usually range from 1/2hp to 3 hp depending on the size and features of a particular pool. Because these high output pumps require a lot of energy, they are costly to operate and extremely loud. As a matter of fact, a single speed pool pump is one of the largest consumers of household energy, second only to air conditioners. A variable speed pump is a simple solution to that ever-increasing power bill. Variable speed pumps can actually use 50% – 75% less energy that single speed pumps and still do the same job. Variable speed motors are fully enclosed and fan cooled, this allows them to run cooler, thus a longer life span. The bottom line is that a 1 ½ HP variable speed pump will use approx. $450 less electricity a year than it’s single speed counterpart.
