How does a Heat Pump work for a Pool
To better understand why a pool heat pump is the best choice for efficiently heating your pool, we must answer the following question: How does a heat pump pool heater work? By answering this question, you'll have a clear idea of why it saves energy consumption, and of course, you'll be in a better position to decide whether to stick with a pool heat pump or go the traditional heater route.
In a nutshell, swimming pool heat pumps
The simplest way to describe how swimming pool heat pumps work is that they draw warm air from around the unit and transfer the heat to the water, which is then returned to the pool. There is no actual heat generation involved, so energy consumption is kept to a minimum. Now, if this explanation isn’t enough, you’re in luck, let’s go ahead and explain in more detail how a heat pump pool heater works. Don’t have a pool heat pump yet? Click here to learn about the benefits of having one.
Pool Heat Pump Step-by-Step Process
1. Pool heat pump fans draw in warm ambient air
2. Evaporator coil extracts heat/heat from the air
3. The extracted heat is transferred to the refrigerant, causing it to heat up
4. The pool heat pump’s compressor pressurizes this warm vapor into hot gas
5. The hot gas passes through the heat exchanger and heats the water in the room
6. After the hot gas releases heat into the water, the gas turns back into a liquid.
7. The liquid refrigerant passes through the expansion valve, is further cooled, and the process begins again
As you can see, no real heat is produced, which is why pool heat pumps are so energy efficient that no energy is wasted! Now let’s take a closer look at how a heat pump pool heater works, shall we?
1. Breathe in warm air
Once the pool heat pump is turned on and water begins flowing through the unit, a fan located on the top (or side, depending on the model) of the unit begins spinning and begins to draw air around the unit. Inhaled air passes through the evaporator coil.
2. The evaporator coil begins to extract heat from the air
The evaporator coil contains a liquid or refrigerant that can easily move from one end of the temperature range to the other. Once the refrigerant heats up, it changes from a liquid to a warm vapor or gas. Now, the warm steam isn't actually enough to heat the water, so it flows through the compressor, which is the heart of a pool heat pump.
3. Generate hot gas from warm steam
A compressor basically compresses (well, it's called a compressor!) warm refrigerant vapor into hot gas. Basically, as the pressure increases, the temperature of the refrigerant also increases. So you start with warm steam and end up with gas hot enough to heat the pool water.
4. Heating water through heat exchanger
Pool heat pumps feature titanium heat exchangers, which are the most efficient types available. Not only that, but it's also resistant to corrosion from pool chemicals and salt (if you have a saltwater chlorinator). A good way to visualize a heat exchanger is to imagine tubes within tubes.
There are two tubes, a smaller inner titanium tube and an outer tube essentially made of PVC. Hot gas passes through the smaller inner titanium tube while water passes through the outside of the tube and this water is contained by the outer tube. The hot gas inside the inner tube transfers heat to the water outside the tube, hence the name "heat exchanger". Warm water flows back into your pool.
5. Expansion valve and return to liquid state
Once the heat of the hot gas is transferred to the water, the refrigerant returns to its liquid state. This liquid is still a little hot, so it needs to go through an expansion valve, which releases all the excess heat and turns it back into a cold liquid. Once it returns to its original state, the process starts over again.
No energy wasted
It can be seen from the working principle of the swimming pool heat pump that no energy is wasted. This is why swimming pool heat pumps have a very high COP or coefficient of performance. Simply put, the coefficient of performance refers to the relationship between the heat produced and the energy consumed. The average COP for a pool heat pump is 6 to 10. Simply put, this means that for every unit of energy consumed by the heating unit, between 6 and 10 units of heat are delivered to your pool.
As we can see, this is very efficient compared to gas or electric pool heaters. How to be more efficient? Well, gas and electric heaters need to transfer at least 70% of the electricity consumed to the pool as heat. The most efficient gas and pool heaters transfer up to 98% of the energy consumed into the pool as heat. This is essentially 1:1, which is a far cry from the COP of a pool heat pump, which can range from 1:6 to 1:10!
What size heat pump do I need for my pool?
There is really no set size for a swimming pool, it all depends on the type of use you plan on using the pool. If you plan to use your pool frequently, then a small to medium-sized pool heat pump will suffice as it is best suited for maintaining the temperature of your pool for long periods of time. If you only use your pool once a week or less, then a larger pool heat pump will suit you.
You may be wondering why we recommend using a larger pump to reduce usage, the fact is that pool heat pumps take a while to heat your pool and once it reaches a certain temperature, maintain it. Therefore, the more you use your pool, the more efficient your pool heat pump will be. But if you don't use your pool regularly, you'll need a larger heat pump to heat your pool faster during use.
If you rarely use your pool and just want to heat it on demand, you can always consider purchasing a traditional gas or electric heater. After raving about pool heat pumps, how can we recommend this one? It's really simple. If you don't use your pool regularly, the energy efficiency of your pool heat pump is wasted! Yes, you're heating your pool cheaply, but if you're not using the pool, it's just wasted efficiency.
Get more help
Leomon is a professional heat pump manufacturer. If you need to purchase a swimming pool heat pump, please contact us. Our heat pump experts will give you the best advice.
