A friend of mine is considering adding a gas heater to his outdoor pool.
Without getting into too many parameters (size, location, usage etc) I just
want a few price points to get an idea of the magnitude of the cost others
are paying for energy (not the equipment).

To those who own heated pools:
If you would, please estimate how much more your energy bill is per month to
heat your pool and tell me what region you live in and if you heat it full
time or periodically so I can get a feel for the cost.

I assume he will also add an insulated pool cover at the same time if it
even gets done.

He is not a candidate for passive solar as he would like the option of
heating it in the winter if he wants (mild SF bay area winter)

My pool is 16x40 lazy L shape, in southern NY. I had solar panels which
worked fine only on days when you wouldn't have needed them anyway. I
installed a propane heater and use it sparingly. I go through roughly two
100 gal tanks in a season. Gas was around $2.00 per gal



"PipeDown" wrote in message
k.net...
A friend of mine is considering adding a gas heater to his outdoor pool.
Without getting into too many parameters (size, location, usage etc) I just
want a few price points to get an idea of the magnitude of the cost others
are paying for energy (not the equipment).

To those who own heated pools:
If you would, please estimate how much more your energy bill is per month
to heat your pool and tell me what region you live in and if you heat it
full time or periodically so I can get a feel for the cost.

I assume he will also add an insulated pool cover at the same time if it
even gets done.

He is not a candidate for passive solar as he would like the option of
heating it in the winter if he wants (mild SF bay area winter)

PipeDown wrote:

He is not a candidate for passive solar as he would like the option of
heating it in the winter if he wants (mild SF bay area winter)

NREL says 680 Btu/ft^2 of sun falls on the ground and 1050 falls on a south
wall on a 48.7 F SF January day, so a pool with an R1 cover with 80% solar
transmission would collect 544 Btu/ft^2 and lose 24h(T-48.7)/R1, which makes
T = 71.4 F. A reflective north wall might raise this to 90. And there's this:
http://www.pacificgunite.com/solar%20pool%20heating.htm

Nick

PipeDown writes:

If you would, please estimate how much more your energy bill is per
month to heat your pool and tell me what region you live in and if you
heat it full time or periodically so I can get a feel for the cost.

Not affordible for a middle-class household. You'll pay $100s per swim.

wrote in message
...
PipeDown wrote:

He is not a candidate for passive solar as he would like the option of
heating it in the winter if he wants (mild SF bay area winter)

NREL says 680 Btu/ft^2 of sun falls on the ground and 1050 falls on a
south
wall on a 48.7 F SF January day, so a pool with an R1 cover with 80% solar
transmission would collect 544 Btu/ft^2 and lose 24h(T-48.7)/R1, which
makes
T = 71.4 F. A reflective north wall might raise this to 90. And there's
this:
http://www.pacificgunite.com/solar%20pool%20heating.htm

Nick

That answer appeals to the engineer in me. Clearly under optimal conditions
Passive soalr is possible. Unfortunately weather is qute unreliable. A
couple days of rain followed by some cloudy days would cool the pool
significantly. I'll definately pass on the info

PipeDown wrote:

... Clearly under optimal conditions Passive soalr is possible.

December is the worst-case month. That was an average December day.

A couple days of rain followed by some cloudy days would cool the pool
significantly.

An 80 F pool 6' deep might cool to (48.7x2+80x70)/72 = 79.1 after 2" of
rain. With a 6x62/R1 = 372 hour time constant, it would cool from 80 to
48.7 + (80-48.7)e^(-72/372) = 74.5 after 3 cloudy days.

Nick

"PipeDown" wrote in message
k.net...
A friend of mine is considering adding a gas heater to his outdoor pool.
Without getting into too many parameters (size, location, usage etc) I just
want a few price points to get an idea of the magnitude of the cost others
are paying for energy (not the equipment).

To those who own heated pools:
If you would, please estimate how much more your energy bill is per month
to heat your pool and tell me what region you live in and if you heat it
full time or periodically so I can get a feel for the cost.

I assume he will also add an insulated pool cover at the same time if it
even gets done.

He is not a candidate for passive solar as he would like the option of
heating it in the winter if he wants (mild SF bay area winter)
How can you even try to estimate the cost when all types of gas prices
raise buy the Hour. I think the right answer is if you have to ask it's to
much

A friend of mine is considering adding a gas heater to his outdoor pool.
Without getting into too many parameters (size, location, usage etc) I
just want a few price points to get an idea of the magnitude of the cost
others are paying for energy (not the equipment).

To those who own heated pools:
If you would, please estimate how much more your energy bill is per month
to heat your pool and tell me what region you live in and if you heat it
full time or periodically so I can get a feel for the cost.

I assume he will also add an insulated pool cover at the same time if it
even gets done.

He is not a candidate for passive solar as he would like the option of
heating it in the winter if he wants (mild SF bay area winter)

The answer is a definite YES!, NO!, AND MAYBE!

Pool heat characteristics can be affected by a lot of things.

Surface area in relationship to depth.
When you run the filter.
Night time temperature.
Wind.
Air temperature.
Amount of sunshine into the pool.
Whether or not a blanket is put over the pool during night time or in windy
conditions.

A pool can vary ten degrees a day considering a combination of these
factors.

So, to answer your question cost ............. A LOT! Gas prices
(whether propane or natural gas) is high. The heater would have to run a
lot during the winter to maintain a constant temperature. It would have to
be turned on hours in advance, depending on the heat gain rate of the pool.

As an example, my spa heats at 5 degrees an hour, and it is only 350
gallons. My pool holds 100 times that much water, so I can only guess how
many degrees per hour it would heat up, or how many hours per degree,
whichever is better.

Heating a pool is a losing deal. The heat will be lost to anything that is
cooler than the water.

How much does your friend want to pay? The only way to really find out is
to hook up the heater and go for it.

I use a solar heater, and that works great. It gives us a few extra months
of warm water, and during the summer, we have to turn it down, or the water
is not enjoyable to swim in. Don't discount solar, as it is free once it is
installed. The cost offset will be substantial, as a solar heater will cost
about $3k, and then after that there is no cost. If you burn $3k worth of
gas, you got nothing to show for it.

I live in Las Vegas.

HTH

Steve

In article ,
Richard J Kinch wrote:

If you would, please estimate how much more your energy bill is per
month to heat your pool and tell me what region you live in and if you
heat it full time or periodically so I can get a feel for the cost.

Not affordible for a middle-class household. You'll pay $100s per swim.

Are in-ground swimming pools insulated on the sides or bottom? I'll bet its
expensive to warm a pool.
--

JR

You wrote:
"If you would, please estimate how much more your energy bill is per
month to heat your pool and tell me what region you live in and if you
heat it full time or periodically so I can get a feel for the cost."
_____________________________________
Re;
Google yielded this DOE link that may help answer your question...


EERE Consumer's Guide: Estimating Swimming Pool Gas Heating Costs and
Savings:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/.../mytopic=13180

Dan Akers