Heat pump vs. natural gas-operating cost

[Bcbeach]

Hello all. I have a 14K gallon pool with a solar cover and am located in southern Michigan.
I am contemplating on whether to get a heat pump or natural gas heater. I don't care about the up front costs, I just want to buy the unit that is the cheapest operating cost. I plan to operate the unit from May to August.
I have heard some people say electric heater is cheaper but others saying gas is cheaper. I have ran calculations, have done research, but cannot find a clear cut answer because I don't know how often each unit would need to be on for to maintain the pool temperature(ideally between 80-85degrees).
My natural gas costs me $8.6MCF and my electric kWh is 15.45 cents non peak hrs and 21cents peak hours(3pm-7pm). My family is convinced gas would be cheaper, but from what i've heard, electric usually is.
In your opinion based off my rates, what would be the cheaper option?
For clarification, I was looking at a 125k heat pump vs a 200k natural gas heater.
Thank you.

 

[ajw22]

The question is how you will run the heater?

With a gas heater you can heat on demand. A 200K gas heater will heat your pool 1.4 degree/hour. A 400K gas heater can heat the pool almost 3 degree/hour. If you have a cold or rainy spell you turn the heater off and then heat the pool before you want to swim.

If you leave the pool running with the heater on 24/7 set at 85 then the electric heater will be cheaper.

The Heat Pump will heat your pool maybe 1 degree/hour best case. A HP will heat a pool slowly and then it is best to leave it on and let it maintain the desired temperature.

If your gas service allows it and you get a gas heater get a 400K model. There is no substitute for BTUs.

 

[Bcbeach]

The question is how you will run the heater?

With a gas heater you can heat on demand. A 200K gas heater will heat your pool 1.4 degree/hour. A 400K gas heater can heat the pool almost 3 degree/hour. If you have a cold or rainy spell you turn the heater off and then heat the pool before you want to swim.

If you leave the pool running with the heater on 24/7 set at 85 then the electric heater will be cheaper.

The Heat Pump will heat your pool maybe 1 degree/hour best case. A HP will heat a pool slowly and then it is best to leave it on and let it maintain the desired temperature.

If your gas service allows it and you get a gas heater get a 400K model. There is no substitute for BTUs.

Ideally I plan on running it for 8-12hours a day in conjunction with my filter pump. I think it might be overkill for my filter pump to run longer than that. From what I've researched both units I mentioned above should be able to get me to my optimal pool temp during that time frame due to me oversizing the units for my pool size.
I understand my pool heater will have to play catch up everyday due to not running it 24/7, but I really don't want to run my pump filter 24/7.
What do you think?

 

[1poolman1]

Ideally I plan on running it for 8-12hours a day in conjunction with my filter pump. I think it might be overkill for my filter pump to run longer than that. From what I've researched both units I mentioned above should be able to get me to my optimal pool temp during that time frame due to me oversizing the units for my pool size.
I understand my pool heater will have to play catch up everyday due to not running it 24/7, but I really don't want to run my pump filter 24/7.
What do you think?

On a really good day your pump is capable of about 35gpm. That is probably a rating on an open line with zero restriction. Get the filter a little dirty and the flow will drop off quickly. That will affect how well you are able to use any heater.

 

[Newdude]

IMO, there is nothing you can accurately calculate in this discussion up north. The weather will decide everything after the fact. It's kinda like buying a window A/C. You can compare the little yellow sticker thingie with an estimated cost, but 70 degree weeks and 95 degree weeks will use considerably different amounts of energy. And that's with the same unit. Imagine deciding if a small unit was more efficient than Central air, with no knowledge of what the weather would bring ? Down south, obviously the whole home unit is the clear winner but up here it can go either way depending on the season.

The HP should theoretically be cheaper in June/July/August. It excels at warming an already warm pool, when it's warm out. But rainy 65 degree weeks that nobody wants to swim during will cost a small fortune to heat through, because if you shut off the HP, you may not be able to overcome the cool weather.

As Allen said, you can shut a gas heater off when the weather sucks and easily start over whenever it gets nice again. It will also work in considerably cooler weather than the HP, if you so choose to use it.

This matters alot more in Michagan than it does in Florida.