Heat pump vs. gas heater in central Ohio

[TNT Pool]

New to this site and first time pool owner. We are in the process of contracting for a new pool and one of the many decisions is what type of pool heater. So far I have talked with 4 builders, 2 of whom priced heat pumps and 2 of whom priced gas heaters. I have questioned them all about which to use and get conflicting answers. One of the builders estimating a gas heater said they would not do a heat pump as the customer wouldn’t be happy. Another builder said they could do a gas heater but that they have mainly done heat pumps and have had no complaints.

We are looking to heat the pool from mid-May to mid-October and looking at other sites it doesn’t appear that the cost of heating with electric or gas will be substantially different. My fist inclination was to go electric but given that I want to heat on the shoulder seasons I am concerned the heat pump won’t perform satisfactorily. As indicated, we are in Central Ohio.

Would appreciate any thoughts and especially experiences.

 

[ajw22]

If NG is available then get a gas heater.

 

[Leebo]

Welcome to TFP!

Natural gas is convenient because it’s always on and relatively inexpensive in this area. Heat pumps are a great option because they efficiently maintain temperature and use very little money. We’re in the Steubenville area and didn’t have the option to use natural gas, so we went with a heat pump and haven’t had any issues. Just note, if the temperature isn’t above 65 degrees, the heat pump doesn’t produce much heat…but natural gas would.

In summary, heat pumps are slightly cheaper to run but more expensive upfront. Natural gas is cheaper upfront but can be more expensive to use. Heat pumps maintain the temperature exceptionally well, while natural gas can heat the pool even when the temperatures aren’t very warm. Both of the heaters assuming you properly size it will work great at warming the water the majority of the time........just stay away from propane heaters as they tend to be VERY expensive to run.

 

[TNT Pool]

Thank you for the helpful responses!

 

[JamesW]

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[PoolStored]

Get the biggest one you can afford. Gas will be more efficient late and early in the year.

Make sure that you use a solar cover to retain heat, or it will get expensive.

I'm in NE Ohio, and it costs me $1000 annually to heat a 30,000 gallon pool, with Gas, from April 1 to October 15.

 

[TNT Pool]

Thanks! Yes I am pretty sold on getting an auto cover. I am looking at pools in the 15-17k gallon range so hopefully it will be a bit better. Do you run heater all the time or just when you want to swim?

 

[PoolStored]

Thanks! Yes I am pretty sold on getting an auto cover. I am looking at pools in the 15-17k gallon range so hopefully it will be a bit better. Do you run heater all the time or just when you want to swim?

I have a solar cover, not an auto cover

I only heat it when I need to.

 

[TNT Pool]

Ah, I have read, maybe wrongly, that a auto cover works much like a sole cover.

 

[suzook]

Ah, I have read, maybe wrongly, that a auto cover works much like a sole cover.

It does. The advantage of ANY cover is keeping the heat loss at a minimum overnight. BTW, I am in the same dilemma as you. I had a HP up north on my last pool, and it worked just fine, but obviously it needs much more time to actually heat the water.