Electric Consumption Of Pool

[Falcon]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me roughly what the cost of a swimming pool is on average in terms of electric. We have moved in to a new house in the last 2 months and our electric bills are far more than any we have previously had in our old house. Both houses are pretty much the same size, swimming pools are the same size (8x12). We are trying to get to the bottom of the excessive electric charges so can only think that the swimming pool pump is somehow using too much. We have it set to 2hrs on at 7am to 9am and 2hrs on at 8pm to 10pm so its not really on that long either.

Thanks for any and all comments.

[Naam]

4 hours pump time,

1 hp ~350/mth

1½hp~525/mth

2 hp ~700/mth

[Chaichara]

Bear in mind also that you should preferably be pumping for a total of 6 - 8 hours a day here in the tropics. Perhaps a little less if you are using an automated sanitation system such as salt water chlorination, or an inline chlorine tablet dispenser, and Zelbrite or crushed glass filter media or a D.E. filter. If you are spending a lot of money on chlorine, you may for example, wish to consider a salt water unit. The ROI isn't immediate but in 36 - 48, months you will beak even and afterwards of course, your chlorine is free. Salt chlorinators use very little electricity and they have built-in timers for the pump.

[Falcon]

Hi Naam/Chaichara,

Thanks very much for the information.

Naam, interesting costings, so really the cost is next to nothing, Something else is weird going on with our electric then as the meter is spinning like crazy, even during the day with just a couple fans on . We even chaged all of the lightbulbs in the house - 40 odd regular 60/100w bulbs to the energy saving ones, spending over 3,000 baht on them thinking that they might be the problem but no, the meter is still spinning fast.

Chaichara, we do already have the salt water system with automatic timers and everything else so it cant be that thats causing us the problem but thanks again for the information. We will have to look in to it further.

Best wishes,

[Naam]

Bear in mind also that you should preferably be pumping for a total of 6 - 8 hours a day here in the tropics. Perhaps a little less if you are using an automated sanitation system such as salt water chlorination, or an inline chlorine tablet dispenser, and Zelbrite or crushed glass filter media or a D.E. filter. If you are spending a lot of money on chlorine, you may for example, wish to consider a salt water unit. The ROI isn't immediate but in 36 - 48, months you will beak even and afterwards of course, your chlorine is free. Salt chlorinators use very little electricity and they have built-in timers for the pump.

fairy tales do not become true even if repeated often. for the record... a salt chlorinator uses salt (NaCL) to produce by electrolysis chlorine (CL) in order to chlorinate pool water. based on the prices charged in Thailand (perhaps my information is outdated) a return on investment is not reached ever, especially when compared with the usage of liquid chlorine.

[Naam]

Hi Naam/Chaichara,

Thanks very much for the information.

Naam, interesting costings, so really the cost is next to nothing, Something else is weird going on with our electric then as the meter is spinning like crazy, even during the day with just a couple fans on . We even chaged all of the lightbulbs in the house - 40 odd regular 60/100w bulbs to the energy saving ones, spending over 3,000 baht on them thinking that they might be the problem but no, the meter is still spinning fast.

Chaichara, we do already have the salt water system with automatic timers and everything else so it cant be that thats causing us the problem but thanks again for the information. We will have to look in to it further.

Best wishes,

perhaps the reason is that you use quite some aircondition and compare the last two hot months with the usage of the former "cool" months?

if that is not the case you have to do a step by step check starting with switching off the mains to your home and check whether the meter keeps on spinning.

[Chaichara]

Bear in mind also that you should preferably be pumping for a total of 6 - 8 hours a day here in the tropics. Perhaps a little less if you are using an automated sanitation system such as salt water chlorination, or an inline chlorine tablet dispenser, and Zelbrite or crushed glass filter media or a D.E. filter. If you are spending a lot of money on chlorine, you may for example, wish to consider a salt water unit. The ROI isn't immediate but in 36 - 48, months you will beak even and afterwards of course, your chlorine is free. Salt chlorinators use very little electricity and they have built-in timers for the pump.

fairy tales do not become true even if repeated often. for the record... a salt chlorinator uses salt (NaCL) to produce by electrolysis chlorine (CL) in order to chlorinate pool water. based on the prices charged in Thailand (perhaps my information is outdated) a return on investment is not reached ever, especially when compared with the usage of liquid chlorine.

I would AGF on the 'fairy tales'. Most people are using powder, granulated, or tablet chlorine - and they often throw too much of it in the pool. It is true that some retail outlets charge horrendous prices for salt water chlorination systems - I've seen them priced in pool shops at double the online prices here in Thailand. Of course, there are also the cheap Chinese ones for only Baht 12,000.00 but there is no real gurantee service and no customer support whatsoever. Pool salt is cheap enough at Baht 150.00 a bag, but the cowboys in Khon Kaen are selling it for baht 750.00 for a 25 Kg bag. Caveat emptor.

[Naam]

It is true that some retail outlets charge horrendous prices for salt
water chlorination systems - I've seen them priced in pool shops at
double the online prices here in Thailand.

i still remember prices of THB 45,000 (only 3-4 years ago) including installation, equivalent to 3,225 liters of liquid CL 30% strength, in my case the consumption of 13 years. i admit that my consumption is compared to other pools very low.

but even if i multiply my consumption by a factor of 2.5 we land up with with a comparison "electrolysis vs liquid CL" of more than 5 years. not taken into consideration is

-chlorinating based on salt extraction requires service of the unit which doesn't come free,

-salt may be cheap but it is not free,

-repairs of the unit and finally replacing it can't be avoided.

-"blocked capital" and "missed yield" add another THB 7,000 over a period of 5 years.

and last not least: salt chlorination requires a certain minimum of pumping time. in the case of the OP his twice 2 hours daily might not be enough. one of my neighbours (pool size slightly bigger than mine) needs a minimum of 7 hours pumping time = additional cost for electricity.

[Chaichara]

You appear to be simply biased against salt water chlorination. I swear by it. Prices of chlorine vary, but tablets are the most expensive form and even if you can get them for baht 300 / Kg, in a year for a medium sized domestic pool, that can be almost half the price of a quality saltwater chlorinator starting at about baht 35,000.00 (depending from whom you buy it of course)

[Naam]

You appear to be simply biased against salt water chlorination. I swear by it. Prices of chlorine vary, but tablets are the most expensive form and even if you can get them for baht 300 / Kg, in a year for a medium sized domestic pool, that can be almost half the price of a quality saltwater chlorinator starting at about baht 35,000.00 (depending from whom you buy it of course)

i am not biased, i just know my maths which i explained not for my but for the OP's sake. savings are not my concern. the setup just for sanitising my pool exceeded 150,000 Baht. only very few madmen like me would burn that kind of money for the same purpose.

this is how i started 6½ years ago. unfortunately i don't have a picture update of my additional madman gadgets (among them UV sanitiser and monitoring my pool water from my PC).

[Chaichara]

I'm impressed. Looks as if you have both acid and ORP sensors and pumps. I don't think however that an average sized domestic pool's owner would want to run to this kind of investment - for which 150 Kb would be about right - probably more at today's prices. At some stage, the electrodes in the sensor probes may need to be replaced. If I were to install such a system, I would probably use Hanna™ sytems (which not being strictly marketed especially for pools, are hence cheaper). For comapct santtation systems, Sw Chlorinators start at about 36 Kb for a pool up to say, 50 - 70m3, while compact non chlorine systems with self-sacrificial copper and/or silver anodes cost aboout 100 - 150 KB for even a small pool - if one can get them at that price in Thailand where they are poorly represented, if at all.

[SantiSuk]

I'm with Naam. You seriously overestimate the cost of chlorine, Chaichara. I have consumed about 5,000 bahts (45kg) worth of powder chlorine (Japanese Trichlor, not the even cheaper Chinese stuff that would have potentially knocked another 1,500 baht off it) over 18 months. And that is for a medium-large pool (80,000 litres).

I also have a salt-water chlorinator, which was supplied when the pool was built at about 50,000 baht for control unit + cell (maybe I was ripped off, but its a recognized Astral brand not some cheap knock-off Chinese?). Im about to switch to that system - its a long story as to why I spent the first two years ignoring it. I note that my instruction manual indicates a pump time of 8-10 hours a day for a chlorinator and my size of pool. I have been very happy with the performance of my "keep it simple - stupid" system of chucking chlorine in every couple of days - the look of the water has been fine and I have never smelled chlorine. Once I bought my 50kg plastic barrel of chlorine powder and struggled it down to the pump room that was it for 2 years - no manhandling (less heavy but still awkward) bags of salt around and no need to worry about storing all that bulk in the dry - you must be buying in bulk if you are paying 150 baht??.

I am not biased but it seems clear to me that operating a chlorinator if you factor in the capital cost is appreciably more expensive than 'kis-s'. I am only going to switch over for a couple of years trial so I can confirm whether the advantages of a chlorinator justify the increased cost. My take on percieved advantages are water feel and the reduced time in not collecting and chucking in chlorine and not needing to call my wife to remind the emergency pool boy (my Thai BIL) to do the bluddy job I briefed and paid him to do when I go away for short periods 6 times a year. I was also surprised to see that I have to maintain the chlorinator by dsimantling it and putting an HCL mix in. So much for avoiding the handling of nasty chemicals!

If I was asked now, then I would encourage new owners not to waste their money on a salt chlorinator or at least get the system built so it can be retrofitted later if you find you can't hack handling chlorine, but let's see. Being open-minded and Having paid for the sw chlorinator system I will be delighted to trumpet it's fantastic advantages over my previous neanderthal approach. Ask me in a year's time

[Naam]

I'm impressed. Looks as if you have both acid and ORP sensors and pumps. I don't think however that an average sized domestic pool's owner would want to run to this kind of investment - for which 150 Kb would be about right - probably more at today's prices. At some stage, the electrodes in the sensor probes may need to be replaced. If I were to install such a system, I would probably use Hanna™ sytems (which not being strictly marketed especially for pools, are hence cheaper). For comapct santtation systems, Sw Chlorinators start at about 36 Kb for a pool up to say, 50 - 70m3, while compact non chlorine systems with self-sacrificial copper and/or silver anodes cost aboout 100 - 150 KB for even a small pool - if one can get them at that price in Thailand where they are poorly represented, if at all.

"I don't think however that an average sized domestic pool's owner would want to run to this kind of investment"

i told you i'm a madman

[Chaichara]

I'm with Naam. You seriously overestimate the cost of chlorine, Chaichara. I have consumed about 5,000 bahts (45kg) worth of powder chlorine (Japanese Trichlor, not the even cheaper Chinese stuff that would have potentially knocked another 1,500 baht off it) over 18 months. And that is for a medium-large pool (80,000 litres).

I also have a salt-water chlorinator, which was supplied when the pool was built at about 50,000 baht for control unit + cell (maybe I was ripped off, but its a recognized Astral brand not some cheap knock-off Chinese?). Im about to switch to that system - its a long story as to why I spent the first two years ignoring it. I note that my instruction manual indicates a pump time of 8-10 hours a day for a chlorinator and my size of pool. I have been very happy with the performance of my "keep it simple - stupid" system of chucking chlorine in every couple of days - the look of the water has been fine and I have never smelled chlorine. Once I bought my 50kg plastic barrel of chlorine powder and struggled it down to the pump room that was it for 2 years - no manhandling (less heavy but still awkward) bags of salt around and no need to worry about storing all that bulk in the dry - you must be buying in bulk if you are paying 150 baht??.

I am not biased but it seems clear to me that operating a chlorinator if you factor in the capital cost is appreciably more expensive than 'kis-s'. I am only going to switch over for a couple of years trial so I can confirm whether the advantages of a chlorinator justify the increased cost. My take on percieved advantages are water feel and the reduced time in not collecting and chucking in chlorine and not needing to call my wife to remind the emergency pool boy (my Thai BIL) to do the bluddy job I briefed and paid him to do when I go away for short periods 6 times a year. I was also surprised to see that I have to maintain the chlorinator by dsimantling it and putting an HCL mix in. So much for avoiding the handling of nasty chemicals!

If I was asked now, then I would encourage new owners not to waste their money on a salt chlorinator or at least get the system built so it can be retrofitted later if you find you can't hack handling chlorine, but let's see. Being open-minded and Having paid for the sw chlorinator system I will be delighted to trumpet it's fantastic advantages over my previous neanderthal approach. Ask me in a year's time

"- no manhandling (less heavy but still awkward) bags of salt around

and no need to worry about storing all that bulk in the dry - you must

be buying in bulk if you are paying 150 baht??".

I'm not buying in bulk or getting any special discount, I just shopped around until

I got the best price

but it's clear that some pool shops are enjoying what may be an

excessive profit. That said, transportation is the problem so it

may be factored into their prices. I can get 30 - 40 25Kg bags in

my pickup, but if you can't, going to a pool shop for just a few

bags every time rather defeats the object of having an SW chlorinator

- especially when in Khon Kaen people are charging Baht 750 for a

bag, which I don't understand because the factory in nearby Phi Mai

delivers free to commercial customers in Isan who take a minmum of

80 bags.

Retro fitting a chlorinator is easy.

Zodiac has a YouTube video that lasts about the length of time it

takes to install one. No special knowledge is needed, because it

also does away with the steel chest of electro gadgets the pool

constructors install.

[Khun Jean]

Would in a sunny country like Thailand using solar power not be a good investment for providing the electricity for the pumps and other equipment. Especially when you want/need to run the pumps for at least 8 hours a day?

[Naam]

Would in a sunny country like Thailand using solar power not be a good investment for providing the electricity for the pumps and other equipment. Especially when you want/need to run the pumps for at least 8 hours a day?

setup too expensive because the pumps are not toys. they have to overcome backpressure of piping and filter system plus high starting amps.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Naam