Is It Time To Update Your Swimming Pool’s Gas Heater?
Whether you own an above ground pool or an in ground pool, a swimming pool heater is a wonderful way to maximize and extend your swimming season. Gas pool heaters, which use either natural gas or propane, are the most popular systems for heating swimming pools. They are the most popular because they are best at on demand heating: neither a heat pump nor a solar pool heater can warm up a swimming pool as quickly as a gas pool heater. They are also popular because they can be the most efficient way to heat your pool, depending on your climate and pool use. For example, pool owners who sparingly heat their pool and do it for relatively short periods of time may save money by using a
gas pool heater. Moreover, they are the most flexible of all pool heating options because unlike heat pumps and solar heaters, they can maintain any temperature you desire irrespective of the weather.
A gas-powered pool heater is optimal for maintaining a constant temperature in the pool, and it accomplishes this fairly simply. As the
pool pump circulates the pool’s water, the pool water is drawn in towards the heater after passing through a filter. The pool water is then exposed to the heat generated by the gas burning in the heater’s combustion chamber, which then heats the water as it returns to the swimming pool.
While many pool owners use gas pool heaters today, many of them are unaware of the benefits of newer models. Here are some of those benefits created by advances in technology:
- Usability – Today’s gas pool heaters, especially those for in ground swimming pools, come with digital controls that make controlling, setting, and understanding your pool heater a breeze.
- Noise – Newer models are extremely quiet compared to many predecessors. Just think, no more annoying humming to bother you, your family, or your neighbors, while you take a relaxing dip in your heated swimming pool.
- Size – Newer models are amazingly compact. This makes it easier to disguise your pool heater as well as gives you more usable space in your backyard.
- Eco-Friendly – Modern heaters are often certified for low NOx emissions and are subject to stringent criteria before they can be labeled as such. Heaters that receive this label have an inlet air assist fan that forces more air in to the combustion chamber for a more controlled and more efficient burn. Although using one of these pool heaters is not as eco-friendly as using a solar pool heater, it saves you on gas and lessens your swimming pool’s carbon footprint.
- Reliability – Older heaters are prone to failures. No swimming pool owner wants to be stuck inside trying to find an emergency serviceman to come fix a broken heater. It’s time consuming and expensive. It’s also often impossible to find replacement parts for older heaters, and much of the time, impossible to make repairs. Many owners are better off getting a new model now and avoiding the inevitable delay from the inevitable need to replace their old model.
- Efficiency – Improvements in flow management technology lessen the restriction on the pool water being circulated by the pool pump, and as a result, owners of newer gas pool heaters can expect savings of up to 30% on their electric bills.
Don’t wait until you experience a catastrophic failure of your current gas pool heater before deciding to replace it. The above practical considerations are enough for most
swimming pool owners to decide to update their pool heater, but if not, consider this fact: old heaters waste hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of dollars through inefficient fuel consumption. Update today and literally save yourself time, money, hassle, and stress.
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