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You are here: Knowledge Base > About swimming pool equipment
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Cooling swimming pools can be a simple affair. Last Updated: 11/13/2012 |
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Every summer we get asked about how to cool a pool. In our neck of the woods swimming pools will climb into the mid 90 degree water temperature. Not what most people would consider a refreshing plunge.
There are a couple really easy ways to cool down your pool water and a couple ways that are not as easy.
The easiest way to cool you pool water is dependant on if you have any water features. If you do, running those features overnight as opposed to during the day will allow the water to cool through evaporative cooling by exposing a larger surface area of pool water to the cooler night air. This simple change could cool your pool by several degrees based on the night air temperature and the relative humidity.
The second easiest is to add a simple fountain such as the Polaris Water Star fountain. These fountains easily attach to either your existing Polaris pool cleaner line or can be added to one or more of your pool returns. Again you would run these fountains at night and allow the water to cool through evaporative cooling.
The next method requires adding a sizable piece of equipment to your pool equipment room, adding a cooling unit. There are a few variations on the theme, Glacier Pool Cooler is the most common one we have found and it can be purchase from The Pool Guy Store. This unit is plumbed into your pool plumbing and uses a fan and built in pump to the unit to assist in the evaporative cooling discussed already. These units are more compact than the Heat and Cool Heat Pump we will discuss next and use substantially less energy.
The most expensive but most effective way to cool a pool in a very humid environment is the heat and cool heat pump. Much like the air conditioner system in your home, this unit uses a refrigerant, compressor and either a set of cooling fins and fan or a second plumbing loop for water to flow through for a geothermal system. The forced air heat pumps are the most common heat pumps used and work quite well at cooling the pool no matter the humidity. The geothermal heat pumps also work great, are quieter and have a smaller footprint but require a larger upfront cost due to requiring a well of some sort for the cooling. Either heat pump requires 50 Amp service to operate. The benefit of going with a heat pump is that it will allow you to cool the pool in the summer and heat the pool in the winter.
Cooling a pool to keep it refreshing and enjoyable can be as simple as adjusting your timeclock or as complex as adding equipment to your pool. Every pool and pool owner has different needs. Finding the right one for you depends on what your budget and goals happen to be.
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