Will Pentair Intelliflo pump save me enough money to justify cost
Will the Pentair Intelliflo pumps save me enough money to justify their cost? Here is my situation. I have an indoor 11000 gallon pool in Cincinnati, Ohio. We like it warm, so it is generally heated at all times.
1) does the reduced flow of this pump allow for proper heating?
2) I have owned this pool for 10 years... is there any other way to save money and not run the pump 24/7, while still maintaining its temperature?
3) Is it better to let the pool water cool down at night and then work to heat it up again during the day?
1) does the reduced flow of this pump allow for proper heating?
2) I have owned this pool for 10 years... is there any other way to save money and not run the pump 24/7, while still maintaining its temperature?
3) Is it better to let the pool water cool down at night and then work to heat it up again during the day?
Pool & Spa - Pentair - Intelliflo Pump 4x160
Answers & Comments
Here are a couple of thoughts. If you install an intelliflo pump and run it for the same amount of time and at the same rpm as your current pump, you will still have a savings. If you drop the rpms by 1k, you will have an exponential savings. Go to the pentair website and use the program to estimate your actual savings. You can still run the heater at a reduced flow setting but there is a limit, you have to check with the heater manufacturer to see what the minimum is.
If you are running a conventional pump 24/7 you are using a ton of energy. You should be able to run the pump for 8 hours a day and achieve the same results. For instance, running the pump from 4am to noon should give you a good window to maintain the heat and not run it all the time. It also depends on if you have a cover on your pool when it's not in use. If you don't, you will lose significant heat when it's not running, however, running it early morning should give it a chance to heat back up before you want to use it again. You will have to experiment with timer settings, etc..
I really do think the intelliflo pump is a great pump. The rare earth magnet design allows it to be way more efficient than the conventional pump. It is so much more efficient that when it's running, you can hold your hand on the motor and it is just warm. Your pump motor probably runs very hot, heat is a by product of inefficiency. I hope this helps.