Published on December 19th, 2014 | by Peter Young

Tips On How To Properly Maintain Your Pool’s Heat Pump

Are you a homeowner who also happens to have a pool? If so, a great way to save money and energy around your home is by heating that pool with an electric heat pump, and like most anything, if it’s properly maintained it can go a long way in extending the life of your unit and maximizing your savings. So to help you save some money on your monthly electric bill we’ve come up with the following tips to maintaining your pools heat pump:

Tips for properly maintaining your heat pump

A good place to start when it comes to maintaining your heat pump is by understanding how it works. Did you know that heat pumps don’t actually generate any heat? Instead heat pumps work by simply taking heat from the outside air and transferring it to the water. Check out the video below to get a better understanding of how your pool’s heat pump works:

Now that you have a better understanding of how your heat pump works let’s look at a few simple things you can do to ensure it’s working properly:

1. Be sure there is sufficient airflow around your unit. Since your pool’s heat pump will likely be outside, be sure there aren’t any plants or walls that will prevent air from freely flowing into the unit. Even partially blocking the heat pump’s airflow will cause it to work harder, using more energy and costing you more money.

2. Remove debris from your unit’s air intake. Over time debris from your yard can get lodged into the air intake of your system, and cause it to work harder as a result. However, removing the debris is simple, just follow these easy steps:

Things you’ll need for the job:

Gloves
Shop-vac

How to remove debris from your units air intake

1. Locate your unit air intake. This should be pretty obvious to spot. In most cases the air intake for your system will be located on the topside of the unit or it will encompass the entire side of it. Just look for the grates that look something like the ones on the side of this unit:

2. Clean the debris out from your air intakes. Simply take your shop vac and remove as much of the debris as possible from the air intakes. There should be several different attachments that come with your shop vac. Try playing around with some of them to see which one does the best job of removing the debris.

It’s also not a bad idea to have your system maintained by a trained professional. After all, heat pumps aren’t exactly cheap and if you’re at all unsure about performing a maintenance task on it, it’s best to call up your local technician. If you’re looking for more ways to make your home or pool more energy efficient, be sure to check out our green home improvement projects: Green Living Ideas, after all, is a top 20 home improvement website!

Photos are courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons (Pool) and Pool Heat Pumps.

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Tags: do it yourself, how to, maintenance, pool heat pumps

About the Author

Peter Young graduated from Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) with a degree in journalism and has made sustainability and eco-conscious living mainstays of both his professional and personal life. It was during his time at PLU that he began his journey with sustainability and it's what has led him to writing for Green Living Ideas. He currently resides in Honolulu and works for Pono Home, an energy efficiency company focused on reducing carbon emissions and promoting a healthier, greener lifestyle.