Our complete range of pool and spa heating options includes both small spa heaters, environmentally friendly solar heaters, and heat pumps for all sizes of pools, including a range of ”Plug & Play” models which you can easily install yourself. Depending on the solution chosen, you can take a dip in pleasantly heated water whenever you feel like it, regardless of the summer weather uncertainty. If you choose to add a heat source to the pool, you should definitely also acquire a thermal summer cover to cover the pool at night. Otherwise, all that lovely heat that you have added to the water during the day will disappear into thin air.
Heat pumps
Extend the pool season with a heat pump. A heat pump is green energy because it “draws” energy out of the air and transfers it to the pool water. The energy needed to run the heat pump is returned many times over.
Swim & Fun offers heat pumps with many different properties. See the whole range here.
Solar heaters
If you find that the pool water is sometimes a little too cold, solar panels and solar heaters are an excellent solution that will extend the pool season. A solar heater is a simple and inexpensive solution, and the pool water temperature will typically increase by up to 6 degrees.
If you choose to add a solar heater to the pool, you should definitely also acquire a thermal summer cover to cover the pool at night. Otherwise, all that lovely heat that the sun has added to the water during the day will disappear into thin air.
Electric spa heaters
An electric spa heater can maintain a steady temperature in the hot tub or smaller pools.
Swim & Fun offers several different electric water heaters with different properties, meaning that there is a model for your specific need. See the range here.
Note that the hot tub heater must be installed by an authorised installer who is qualified to work on hydrotherapy installations.
How warm should my pool water be?
It is obviously an individual matter how we are affected by cold and warm pool water, respectively, and how warm one prefers the pool water to be. We have, however, tried to give a few pointers below about how most people experience the pool temperature. When trying to identify the optimum temperature for your pool, we recommend that you try your way, but we hope that the overview can give you an idea where to start.
Degrees Celsius Description of how the pool water temperature is experienced
21° Feels shockingly cold. Typically makes you gasp for breath.
24° Less gasping, but still a very cold experience.
26° Feels cold and takes a little bit of self-persuasion to get into, but the perfect pool water temperature for competitive swimmers. Will soon feel too cold for water games.
28° Feels cool, but is a good temperature for water games and constant activity.
29° The minimum temperature, for example, in a water park, and still feels cold just when you get in. Maximum temperature for swimming as exercise.
30° Pleasant bathing temperature. A child older than 3 can stay in the water without freezing, but will still find it a little cold. Too cold for children younger than 3. Too warm for exercise swimming, due to overheating of the body.
31° Pleasant bathing temperature, but a little cold compared to an actual warm-water pool. Still too cold for children younger than 3.
32° Minimum temperature for, e.g., a warm-water pool, but children younger than 3 must be in constant movement to not get cold.
33° Perfect bathing temperature where even small children are pleasantly warm. You can move about a little without getting too hot.
34° Pleasantly warm and moving around makes you hot. Good temperature for sitting still in a hot tub without bubbles and air.
36° Hot tub will feel a little warm.
38° Hot tub will feel pleasantly warm.
40° Very warm hot tub that you can only stay in for a short time.
42° Much too hot and staying in the water is impossible.
Is it necessary to insulate the pool wall?
A free-standing pool is generally not very resistant against heat loss from the pool walls. A pool with an outer steel or composite wall will retain heat a little better than a cheaper plastic pool on a steel frame or with inflatable top edge.
This means that there may a heat gain by protecting the pool wall against heat loss. If the pool is surround covered – e.g. with a wood cladding, this can provide shelter against the wind and reduce the heat loss. If the pool is subject to direct wind it is a good idea to create shelter, for example by using a windbreak or similar.
An insulated and fully recessed pool with an insulating summer cover on top provides the greatest heat pump utilisation, as the heat loss is already as low as possible from the bottom and sides.
How do air temperature and humidity affect energy utilisation?
The surrounding environment greatly affects energy utilisation, and it is natural that we are not able to control all the factors when the pool is located outside.
For heat pumps it applies that the lower the ambient temperature, the less effective the heat pump. That means that the heat gain drops in step with the air temperature.
The opposite is true in relation to air humidity. The higher the humidity, the more energy efficient the heat pump is. In other words, when the humidity increases the heat gain increases.
Slightly too big is better than slightly too small.
If you choose a heat pump that is slightly too small it will be more expensive to run than an appropriately sized heat pump, and you will most likely be disappointed by the actual heat output.
An oversized, conventional “on/off” heat pump will start and stop more often, giving lower system efficiency. The increased wear will eventually result in a shorter lifetime.
The technology of an Inverter Pro heat pump, however, means that it will not use extra energy even if it has extra capacity relative to the pool volume. On the contrary, it will heat the pool quick due to the extra capacity – and subsequently use a lot less energy on maintaining the temperature of the smaller volume of pool water.
What is COP value?
The amount of energy needed to “draw” the air through the heat pump is returned many times over in terms of heating effect. This is expressed by the so-called COP value* (Coefficient Of Performance). This specifies the ratio of heat generated by the amount of power used. The higher the number, the greater the efficiency of the heat pump. Most conventional heat pumps have a COP between 4 and 6 and are tested at an air temperature between 24 and 27°C and a water temperature between 25-27°C.
Inverter heat pump technology makes it utilise energy far better. This means that our Full-Inverter heat pumps in heat maintaining energy-saving mode can reach a COP value as high as 16.0.
How many days will it take the heat pump to heat the pool water?
In the start-up phase the heat pump will increase the water temperature by about 2-3°C per day, but it depends on the heat pump's heating capacity, the pool type and location and how well the pool water is insulated against heat loss.
The table below will give you an idea of the time it will take to heat your pool depending on the heat pump chosen. The table shows the number of days it will take to heat the pool water from 10 to 28°C. It is presumed that the pool is under a thermal cover around the clock and any additional sunlight heating has not been factored in. The water from the water utility may be anywhere between 7-16°C. If you start at 16°C instead of 10°C, you can subtract a couple of days from the heating time. The table is a guideline.
If you hold off using the heat pump until both the air and water temperature are +15°C, you will experience a significantly quicker and more energy-efficient heating.
Inverter technology functions and benefits
A heat pump works opposite to a refrigerator (see the illustration below) by drawing heat out of the air and transferring it to the pool water.
To be more precise, a fan draws outside air over an evaporator containing a liquid refrigerant. Inside the evaporator the refrigerant absorbs the heat energy and turns into gas. A compressor puts the gas under pressure so that the gas temperature increases significantly. The built-up heat is then transferred via a condenser (heat exchange) to the colder pool water that is passed through the condenser. At the same time, the pool water cools down the warm gas which resumes its liquid state – and a new cycle can begin.
The advantage of inverter technology
A traditional heat pump stops running when the desired temperature has been reached and starts again when the temperature drops 1-2 degrees. A Full-Inverter heat pump (article No.: 1401, 1402, 1403, and 1404), however, feature dynamic frequency control of both fan and compressor which constantly adjusts the temperature optimally.
This means that the energy loss inherent in the conventional start/stop heat pump is eliminated. Depending on the model and environmental impact, our Inverter heat pump in heat-maintaining mode provides up to 16.0 times more energy than it consumes (COP = 16.0), whereas a regular heat pump typically returns around 5 times more energy (COP = 5).
At the same time, the new Twist titanium heat exchanger provides optimum heat transfer. Read more about the Twist titanium heat exchanger here.
Twist titanium - a new generation of heat exchanger in Inverter Pro
All Swim & Fun heat pumps feature a titanium heat exchanger, as this is the perfect material for use in swimming pools. Titanium can withstand all known water care products, meaning that it can be used in all types of pool water without being damaged.
Now, the new generation, featuring a Twist titanium coil, takes the heat exchanger to new highs. The Generation 2.0 heat exchanger was developed with a twisted coil surface which provides far greater heat transfer to the pool water. This makes it far more energy efficient than a Generation 1.0 heat exchanger with a smoot coil surface.
You can see an illustration of the two heat exchanger generations below. Twist titanium is shown on the right.
All Swim & Fun Inverter Pro heat pumps feature the new generation Twist titanium heat exchanger.
Plug & play model or fixed, authorised installation
Swim & Fun offers both plug and play heat pumps (article No.: 1056, 1293 Xpress7+, 1294 Xpress10+, 1073 Xpress14+), that you can easily install on your own, and heat pumps for fixed installation (article No.: 1400 Pool & Spa, 1401 Full-Inverter, 1402 Full-Inverter, 1403 Full Inverter, 1404 Full Inverter) which must be installed by an authorised installer.
As can be seen in the table below, there are models for all pool sizes – from smaller garden pools to large swimming pools.
You can download a comparison table with all the models below. Common to them all is that they are designed for outdoor installation.
Plug and play models are particularly suitable for summer pools and garden pools which are dismantled at the end of the bathing season and for permanent, free-standing garden pools. They are easy to dismantle and put away for the winter – and just as easy to connect again the following year.
Warm water requires more water care products
The water must be clean and clear so that the pool remains a safe and healthy place to spend time. Particles of dirt, spores, and bacteria are continuously added to the water from the surroundings, and bacteria can quickly multiply in water above 20 degrees C. This is avoided with disinfecting water care products.
The disinfectants used are so-called oxidants, which includes products based on chlorine and active oxygen (chlorine-free method), respectively. What they have in common is that they have to be added to the pool water on an ongoing basis.
The amount of disinfectant required varies, depending on several factors. Higher doses are necessary for warm water and for pools that receive high solar radiation. The same applies the more the pool is used and where there are more contaminants such as leaves, grass, sunscreen, cosmetics, and hair in the pool.
How to find the right heat pump
It is necessary to understand that the heat capacity and the performance of the pump depend on the climate you live in. Areas with cold climates have a shorter swimming pool season. Therefore, hot pool water in the north requires heat pumps with higher capacity than in medium to warmer climates.
The illustration is an approximate estimate of the climate differences, and thus an indication of what type of heat pump you should consider buying to get the right performance.
