A GREEN Pool? The ultimate goal on any pool is clear, warm water!

In the world of pools and spas green is a bad word, it congers up images of algae and frogs, but in today’s world of ever increasing energy costs and dwindling natural resources it has become a battle cry. At Aquajoy Spa And Pool we have been on the road to energy conservation for many years, not just for the economical reasons but for the environmental and safety reasons also. The health of our clients and our employees is always our concern. The ultimate goal on any pool is clear, warm water.

What is available?

All pools use water, electricity, gas and chemicals! All of them are natural resources that are finite currently. To conserve them while still providing us with the joy of swimming we must try to reach a balance. Water is the most valuable resource we have; life is not possible with out it.

In a pool, currently we chemically treat and heat the water and then dump it to waste to clean the filters, and let it evaporate on cool days. To conserve water we can add a solar blanket to keep water, heat and chemicals in it. We can switch to a cartridge filter that is sized to the pool. This will eliminate the back wash and reduce cleaning time, 50-100 gallons a season versus 200-500 gallons on a regular back wash. In time both these products will not only save money (water, heat and chemicals) but will actually pay you backing in savings. Chemicals are expensive and not very human or environmentally safe. Salt, ozone and ion chemical treatment are much safer use less chemical and again offer a payback in the long run. Automatic pool covers offer the same benefits as solar blankets along with a huge safety factor; the pay back is in the form of peace of mind and cleaning time.

Energy Efficient & Cost Savings For Your Pool & Wallet!

At the equipment pad, we run inefficient pumps and heaters and use filters that require back washing. We also have plumbing that is sized wrong for the turn over of the pool and to the horse power of the pump. Today we have motors for the older pumps that are “High E” and pumps that run on low speed to maintain the pool and on high to clean and heat, new pumps that are variable speed (adjusting to the filter pressure and the amount of pool usage). Heaters are being replaced with heat pumps and “High E” heaters. The current heaters are 82 to 85% efficient compared to 15 years ago when 70 to 75% was common. These new units save on energy and operational costs, there is a payback, but it will take longer, (unit cost + energy consumed / energy savings). New controllers that run the pool in timed intervals and that add chemicals as needed on a slow and even pace. These controllers allow us to keep the pool operation at a minimum and have the option to tie our whole back yard experience in to one neat box ( out door lights ,pool lights, spa, waterfalls, fountains radio, etc). The pools plumbing can also be a drain on energy pump life and pool maintenance. Piping that is to small will restrict water flow causing friction; pumps must use more energy to over come this and will wear out sooner. Poor circulation will result in poor water quality, higher chemical costs and more time in maintenance.

What is a Green pool?

With water, chemicals, gas and electricity we can achieve a clear pool, but at what cost to us and the environment. Easy fixes are solar blankets, careful chemical maintenance, moderate heating, plumbing, and pump motor upgrades. These upgrades will improve our swimming experience and reduce our time at the pool instead of in the pool. The majorities of the upgrades have reasonable price tags and can be done in phases. By investing in cartridge filters, efficient heaters and chemical and pool controllers the operational costs will decrease and the environmental and savings cost will increase. The side effect of this becomes a very low maintenance and Eco friendly pool that will slowly pay for itself. The ultimate goal of clear, warm water, with minor effort achieved.

A GREEN Pool? The ultimate goal on any pool is clear, warm water!