Solar Pools!

 The more involved I get in solar energy and the global climate community, the more my eyes open to how many things around us that we use on a daily basis could be changed for the better. Swimming pools are a great example. There’s nothing I love more than soaking up the sun next to a chill pool on a hot Boise summer day, but now that I’ve learned a little bit about the energy requirements behind those chill pools I think we all need to rethink our pool habit a bit.

Here are some statistics I came across recently on the “average” conventional pool pump:

1) They use around 500 kWh per month or 6,000 KwH per year. That is a lot by the way – your refrigerator, if it is from around 1986 uses 1,400kWh per year and a modern refrigerator only uses around 350 KwH per year. Put simply, you could line up and operate 17 modern refrigerators in your garage for the cost of running that one pool pump.

2) Now, depending on the source of your grid-based electricity, that amount of energy could be producing around 11,400 pounds of CO2 per year. That is almost 6 tons!

3) Finally, think about the amount of money that energy costs the pool owner on an annual basis – it’s probably an average of $800/year.

Enter the solar pool pump miracle. It’s like a superhero for pool owners! Replacing your pump and adding a small solar panel array can completely eliminate that $800 / month bill and wipe out nearly six tons of CO2 emissions per-pool per-year. Pool owners need to be educated and take a close look at this alternative way to keep their pools clean. It can save money and save the environment!

The next time you’re over at your friend’s pool relaxing in the sun, you might mention these facts and see if we can get one more high energy device replaced by an awesome green machine – the solar pool pump!