Pool Heating Cost Calculator
Enter pool gallons, your electric rate and how many extra swim days you want. The calculator prices the heat pump season, the per-day cost, and the solar cover savings that come first.
Pool heating fails as a purchase and works as a season: the honest order is solar cover first (a tarp that holds overnight heat), heat pump second (efficient but slow), gas last (fast and expensive). Price the extension in days of swimming, not degrees - that is the unit the family actually buys.
How to use
- Pool gallons and your electric rate in cents.
- Swim days you want to add on each end of the season.
- Read the per-day figure - that is the real price of a warm pool Tuesday. Updates live.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to heat a pool with a heat pump?
A heat pump on a 15,000-gallon pool runs roughly 45 kWh per swim day - about 7 dollars at 15-cent power, and closer to 10 in shoulder season when it works longer. Extending the season 45 days lands near 450 dollars a year; the calculator scales it to your pool and rate.
Is a solar pool cover worth it?
It is the best dollar-for-dollar move in pool ownership: a tarp-quality cover cuts evaporation and overnight loss, worth about 30 percent of any heating bill, for the price of dinner out. It comes first in the honest upgrade order - before the heat pump, before the gas line.
Heat pump or gas heater for a pool?
Heat pump for the season, gas for the weekend: heat pumps run a third of the cost but warm slowly, while gas heats fast at triple the fuel bill - the right tool if the pool must be 85 by Saturday afternoon. Flexible seasons choose the heat pump every time.
How long does it take to heat a pool?
A heat pump adds roughly 1-2 degrees per day on a typical pool - which is why it runs daily as a season extender rather than an on-demand switch. Gas does in hours what the pump does in days, at three times the running cost. The calculator prices the daily-running model.