Heating

There are several ways to heat your swimming pool, the three most popular being, solar heating, electrical heating and the heat pump. Depending on your swimming needs depends on which system is best for you. We try to give here an honest assessment of the pros and cons of each system.

Electical Heating

The biggest benefit of the electric heater is the initial set up cost which starts from around 1000€, which is by far the cheapest of any pool heating to install. The unit is small and compact and can be sited in the pool house so poses no aesthetic problems. It also Gives the longest extension to the swimming season.
On the down side is the running costs, which could be in excess of 1500€ per year.
If you are short on space and are not phased by the running costs or you are looking for a short term solution then the electric heater fits the bill.

Solar Heating

As the suns rays are free obviously the biggest benefit of solar heating is the running costs (virtually zero) The initial set up cost depends on size of pool and the length of your swimming season. But the average cost for a 10x5 pool is in the region of 4500€.

On the down side you need an area of about 32m2 on a 10x5m pool to give you 2-3 months extra swimming. The longer you want your swimming season the larger this area has to be. If you have the location, solar heating can be a very effective and economical way to heat your pool.

Heat Pumps

A heat pump uses the ambient temperature in the air compressing it, extracting large amounts of heat. It works a bit like a fridge in reverse, where a fridge uses the cold and gets rid of the heat, a heat pump uses the heat and gets rid of the cold. It runs on electricity, but as it is only running a compressor and not a heating element at a fraction of the cost of the electric heater. For 1kw of electricity consumed 5kw of heat energy are produced. The average running cost is 200-300€ per year. The heat pump is really a compromise between the other two options it is relatively compact in size, it offers a very good length to the swimming season with an affordable running cost.

The only drawback of the heat pump is the initial cost which starts from around 5000€ . The heat pump is the preferred heating method today for swimming pools.

For more information or prices on any of the above heating methods please phone or email.