Heater pros and cons

[cleancloths]

I have a 30,000 gallon IG pool in NJ with a heatpump that is sized at 85,000 BTU/Hr and it works great. I have had it for quite a few years and have never had to do any maintenance on it. It will raise the temperature about one degree every three hours -- not as fast as a 400Kbth/hr gas heater but fast enough. Once you have the pool up to temperature the unit does not have to run much to maintain temp if you have a solar cover on the pool when not in use. Check some of the mfg pages as far as breaker sizing and amperage draw. If you are close on your electrical, or if you want to trade-off capital versus operating costs get one with the highest COP you can find. COP = coefficient of performance and tells you how much heat energy you get out for each unit of energy you put in.

If I had it to do all over again I would go with the heatpump rather than solar due to the large amount of surface area you need for solar. I believe you need roughly the same square footage as the surface area of your pool to be really effective. As far as putting on the roof, thanks but no thanks the damage the could take place in event of a leak would never be worth that risk in my mind.

[stosh507]

cleancloths,
Thanks for the response. Sorry for my ignorance, but specifically what risk of damage from a leak are you talking about?
I will definitely have to use the solar cover like you say. Sounds like you are very happy with the heat pump.