Running costs for a pool

Are you interested in a pool and are you wondering about the operating costs that you will have to face each year? Regardless of whether you move into a house that already has a pool or would like to build it yourself, ongoing costs must always be taken into account. Pools can lead to high costs over the year, depending on their size, equipment and operating time. This article provides an overview of the annual operating costs.

Running costs for a pool

Before you start building a pool, it is important to have a clear understanding of what is in store for you in terms of running costs. A swimming pool is not just a large bathtub, but a permanently filled basin that has filters, heaters, pumps and other equipment. These cause costs that, depending on the size of the swimming pool, are no longer affordable for some people. This is what makes planning ahead so important, as it is the only way to know whether you will be able to operate the pool in the future. Running costs for the pool are made up of several cost items and some are dependent on the location of the pool. That is, whether it is an indoor or an outdoor pool. You can find out the cost items in the following sections.

running time

Many people forget to calculate the utility costs for the swimming pool according to the running time. This means the length of the season in which the pool is operated. Since the majority of pool owners have an outdoor pool, they are not operated all year round, which of course saves costs in terms of heating and the use of equipment. The typical season for the outdoor pool starts at the beginning of May and lasts until the end of September or the first week of October. After that, it becomes too cool for many people to swim. In addition, heating pool water outdoors over the winter would waste significantly too much energy. An indoor pool, on the other hand, can be operated all year round. You must note the following transit times:

• Outdoor pool: around 150 days
• Indoor pool: 365 days

Of course, you don't have to run your indoor pool all year round. But if you do not want to do without this, you have to include the operating costs for the whole year in the bill. Since the runtime itself only describes the number of days in which the pool is operated, you have to adjust the number accordingly when making the calculation. Of course, with an indoor pool, you shouldn't forget to include the special devices such as the dehumidifier in the bill and to adjust the days for them.

Some pool owners do not adjust running costs for a pool to the operating time or this point is simply ignored if they are not familiar with it. Do not forget this point, however, in order not to unnecessarily increase the final costs.

Note: If you live in particularly mild areas such as the German wine-growing regions or south of your home country, the running time of the outdoor pool is usually significantly longer, as the winter is either warmer or shorter persists. In this case, the running time is extended according to the outside temperature.

Filter pump

One of the most important cost items that make up the running costs of the pool is the filter pump. Without the filter pump, the water would no longer circulate and you would have to swim more and more in your own dirt. For this reason, it is important to know how high the operating costs for the filter pump can be. The operating costs for the filter pump depend on the number of hours, which averages eight to ten hours per day. Typical filter pumps use 0.5 kWh, which corresponds to four to five kWh per day. The average kWh price is around 0.25 euros. This means that you pay between 1 and 1.25 euros per day to operate the pump. That is between 150 and 187.50 euros per season.

heater

Pools need to be heated to allow the preferred bathing temperature. On average, outdoor pools cool by 1 ° C to 2 ° C per day (in the example calculation, 1.5 ° C is used). To counteract this heat loss, a fixed factor of 1.16 kWh is used, which describes the amount of energy that is required for heating. Accordingly, three different systems are used for the heating, which cause different costs:

• Oil and gas: 0.08 euros per kWh
• Heat pump: 0.25 euros per kWh
• Solar energy: 0 euros per kWh

Please note that the cost per kWh depends on your supplier or your equipment. These values ​​are typical estimates. Solar energy is free because you generate it yourself. However, the costs for operating the system can increase due to the pool.

Note: The calculation of an indoor pool in terms of heat supply is much more complicated, as ongoing heating costs for the entire building have to be taken into account. You should consult a professional here.

water

The water cost is calculated based on the volume. What is important for this is the price per cubic meter of fresh water, which varies from region to region. To simplify this process, many bills assume five euros per cubic meter, although this can be significantly cheaper for you. The water costs are required for heating costs, the seasonal initial filling and backwashing.

tip: Very large outdoor pools in particular can cause high ancillary costs in spring when they have to be refilled with fresh water. Since the water in indoor pools usually does not evaporate as quickly as outdoors, large pools are sometimes more cost-effective, because these have to be refilled again and again, but not completely emptied, which turns out to be cheaper in the long run can. A cheaper alternative can also be filling the pool with Well water represent.

Backwash

During backwashing, there is always a loss of water that has to be compensated for with fresh water. About 20 to 25 backwashes are required over the season, twice as much over the year. Backwashing uses an average of 300 liters of water. At a price of 5 euros per cubic meter, 20 to 25 backwashes cost 30 to 40 euros per year.

Water treatment

Water treatment refers to the chemical agents such as chlorine that keep the water clean. This includes:

• chlorine
• pH reducers
• pH lifter
• Salt electrolysis systems
• Active oxygen

Since these costs can differ greatly from one another, empirical and estimated values ​​are usually assumed here. Depending on the effort and the degree of pollution, these can be between 150 and 250 euros per year. There are also cleaning agents for the system.

Sample calculation

Running costs for the pool can be illustrated more easily with an example calculation. On the basis of this you can see exactly how you can calculate your pool and its consumption. This example calculation is based on a swimming pool measuring 2 mx 4 m, which is a simple size for the calculation. A depth of 1.4 m is assumed here, which is typical for the domestic swimming pool.

A sloping area, as is the case in swimming pools and outdoor pools, only rarely exists in private pools and it is worthwhile to hire a professional here. Calculating such a basin can turn out to be very complicated.

Calculate volume

The calculation of the water requirement comes first in the example calculation. For this you need the volume of your pool:

Height in m x length in m x width = swimming pool in m³

If you are planning a pool, you have to calculate the volume as follows:

1.4 m x 4 m x 2 m = 11.2 m³

This is the volume calculation for a rectangular swimming pool. If you have a round swimming pool in mind, the following formula is used:

Pi x radius² x height = swimming pool in m³

The radius is required for the volume calculation. Since a cylinder is the typical shape for round pools, the above formula is used here. Since a cylinder cannot have dimensions of 4 mx 2 m, a radius of 2 m is assumed here if the swimming pool is to have a diameter of 4 m. The calculation as follows:

Pi x 2² x 1.4 = 17.6 m³

With this, a large part has already been completed. Once you have the volume of your pool, all you have to do is offset the individual cost items and you have a precise overview of the possible ancillary costs for the operation of your Pools.

Heat demand

Now it is time to calculate the heat demand, which, as already described above, is made up of the volume and the factor for heat capacity 1.16. It doesn't matter whether you have a round or square pool:

11.2 m³ x 1.16 = 12.992 kWh

This value, the kilowatt hours per degree, is now multiplied by a factor of 1.5 as described above (since heat loss of 1-2 C °). This enables the calculation of the actual heat requirement so that your pool reaches a permanently comfortable temperature:

12.992 kWh x 1.5 = 19.488 kWh / day

Now you know how many kWh your pool uses per day to cover the heat demand. Of course, this value is not enough for you to see the total running costs of the pool over the season, since you are not only calculating a single day. This value is now multiplied by the days you use the pool. That is, you need to calculate the value according to the operating time:

19.488 kWh / day x 150 = 2,923.2 kWh

You almost did the hardest part of the calculation. Now these kWh are offset against the above-mentioned euros per kWh for the type of heat generation. The outdoor pool is used for clarification. You can calculate the indoor pool in the same way:

Oil or gas: 2,923.2 kWh x 0.08 euros / kWh = 233.86 euros

Heat pump: (2,923.2 kWh / 5) x 0.25 euros / kWh = 146.16 euros

Solar: 2,923.2 kWh x 0 euros / kWh = 0 euros

total cost

Together with the costs for heat generation, you now have to offset all other cost items with one another. In addition to the heating costs, you also need to calculate how much water you will need to top up the pool at the beginning of the season. To do this, take the filling volume again and multiply it by the price for one cubic meter of fresh water:

11.2 m³ x 5 euros = 56 euros

The entire calculation for a pool with the dimensions of 2 m x 4 m x 1.4 m with an operating time of 150 days a year, which is heated by a heat pump, looks like this:

• Heat: 146.16 euros
• Electricity for filter pump: 187.50 euros
• seasonal first filling: 56 euros
• Backwash: 30 euros
• Water treatment: 150 to 250 euros
• Total costs: 569.66 to 669.66 euros per year

As you can see, even with a small pool, the running costs are not to be trifled with. Special devices such as lighting systems or jacuzzi pumps are not included in this calculation. Likewise, dehumidifiers for indoor pools. These must be added separately to the actual operating costs. Depending on the cleaning effort, there are no costs for the first seasonal filling of an indoor pool, while the costs for water treatment and backwashing can double.

Note: Despite the simple dimensions of the example calculation, you should not simply double its values ​​if you have a larger pool, such as 4 x 8 m or 8 x 16 m. At first glance, it looks like you simply have to double or quadruple the value, but the water requirement cannot be simply multiplied.