How To heat A Swimming Pool? Make no mistake being able to afford to buy a swimming pool and being able to afford to heat it can be a very different matter.

Keeping your pool hot particularly in a cold climate can be expensive. So before buying a pool it is well worth looking at the different ways that you can heat it. There are several ways by which you can heat your pool – Gas Powered heaters, Heat pumps and solar power.

Solar Panels - Whilst solar panels have come down dramatically in price in recent years, they could not yet be classed as cheap, and if you decide to buy them for your pool, you should regard them as a long term investment, and not buy them if you are planning on moving within the next few years as you may not recoup the full cost when you sell. In addition they work best in countries with a lot of sunlight, and so if you have a lot of inclement weather you are probably better saving your money.

Heat Pumps – These are probably the most efficient way to heat your swimming pool. They do not heat directly using electricity but they use electricity to capture heat and move it from one place to another. They work by extracting heat from the outside air and then condense and concentrate the extracted heat and use it to heat the water. This does however mean that the colder the air they draw in the more electricity is used to extract the heat, and as such they are more suited to warmer climates.

Gas Powered Heaters – These are the most common forms of heater you will find Worldwide, burning either mains gas or from Propane gas tanks, however they are the least efficient of the three options listed here. They work in much the same way that your household heating systems works to warm the water. They are best suited to working for short periods of time – such as initially warming up a pool. The other main advantage over solar power or a heat pump, is that they can maintain your swimming pools temperature constantly.