Hayward Super Pump VS Filter Schedule
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When you get a new variable speed pool pump you have the ability to improve the filtration quality and volume for your pool while actually reducing on the electrical consumption that it takes to accomplish this. Unfortunately for many pool owners they will never realize the true potential of their new variable speed pump simply because they fail to utilize the electrical savings potential fully. It is not enough to simply knock down the RPM a few hundred points and call it a day. I mean, sure, you would probably save some money versus a pump that was running on full speed instead but you are certainly leaving a lot on the table in terms of potential for savings but also for the quality and quantity of your filtration.
The first rule of fight club owning a variable speed pump is that you need to run it 24 hours per day. Stated another way, you will never realize the full potential benefit of a variable speed pump if you are turning it off for periods of time each day. Long hours at low speeds are where VS pumps really dial up the savings so you should have no periods during the day when the pump is off and water is stagnant. This is how you used to save money with a single speed pump. There was no other way. Making the comparison to automobiles, which is something I like to do to help simplify complex technical considerations, if your car only had off or full throttle as the two speed options, then it would make a lot of sense to turn the car off for part of your daily commute. As soon as you introduce throttle control to you car, aka the gas pedal, you no longer benefit from turning the car off for part of your daily commute. Simply control the throttle as required to dial in the exact speed you need to optimize your daily commute. In doing so your gas bills (electrical usage for the pump) are going to go down significantly. Was this helpful or more confusing?
Filtration goals - You should strive to filter the volume of your pool three times every 24 hours. The more you filter your water the less physical debris and contamination there will be in the water. This means there is a direct, linear comparison between how much chlorine your pool will use, and how much you filter your water. The more you filter your water, the less debris you have in the pool, the less chlorine you need. For one, chlorine costs money so that is a benefit. Even more beneficial is a reduction in the total exposure to chlorine and subsequent chemical treatments needed to maintain your water balance. More filtration is the silver bullet that pool owners have been asking for. Less chemicals, less chlorine, cleaner water...all using something you have already. The filtration system. Simply use it more. Instead of running the pump the least possible amount to keep the pool clean, as is traditionally done by pool owners, instead filter your water as much as you can. Especially since variable speed pumps take the concern of electrical cost away in doing so. There is no valid argument for less filtration versus more. Three turnovers of the pool volume daily will result in approximately 95% of the water in the pool being filtered at least one time. The first turnover nets 63% and the second nets 86%. The third 95% and a fourth turnover will result in approximately 98% of the water being filtered at least one time. This is due to how the clean, filtered water diffuses into the body of "dirty" pool water still waiting to be filtered. Regard three turnovers of your water as your minimum goal every day and if you want less exposure to chemicals or cleaner water then you can increase these numbers even further.
24 Hour filtration example
Pipe size = 2" PVC
TDH = 25'
Filter pressure = 6.5 PSI @ 3200 RPM
Pump = Hayward Super Pump VS (SP2603VSP)
Filtration total = 62,640 gallons
Electrical use = 8.04 kWh
24 hour cost = $1.05
In this example we are looking at an economical 24 hour dynamic filtration schedule for a pool that would be minimal for peripheral items. This is evidenced by the relatively low TDH values. Every pool is unique so you have to consider these numbers as examples, not hard numbers, and your pool will in fact have unique values for flow and electrical consumption even if you follow this 24 hour filtration schedule exactly. If you have a small or medium sized pool, under 20,000 gallons and without too many peripheral devices like a gas heater or solar heater, this might be a good filtration example for you to follow. We will have periods of time at low, medium and higher speeds daily and the long hours at low speed are being broken up with an hour at higher RPM in the middle. Also worth noting is that the majority of higher RPM operation is being scheduled for overnight when variable electrical rates are the lowest. In these calculations we use $0.13 per kWh as the multiplier for electrical costs as this is the current national average. If you know your kWh electrical rates you can substitute them in place.
24 Hour schedule
5am - 1pm = 1200 RPM
1pm - 2pm = 3200 RPM
2pm - 9pm = 1200 RPM
9pm - 10pm = 3200 RPM
10pm - 3am = 2500 RPM
3am - 5am = 3200 RPM
After 24 hours we have a total of 15 hours at 1200 RPM, five hours at 2500 RPM and four hours at 3200 RPM. This provides a total of 62,640 gallons of filtered water for a total 24 hour cost of approximately $1.05 which is very lean. Most people pay a lot more than this to filter their water for only 6 or 8 hours per day with a single speed pump. It is very important to install and use a flow meter as this instrumentation is critical in being able to dial in the correct pump RPM speeds and flow rates. Without a flow meter you can only calculate or guess at flow rates which leaves too much room for error.
Filtration totals
1200 RPM (29 GPM) = 26,100 gallons after 15 hours
2500 RPM (61 GPM)= 18,300 gallons after 5 hours
3200 RPM (72 GPM) = 18,240 gallons after 4 hours
Total filtration = 62,640 gallons / day
Electrical consumption totals
1200 RPM (80 Watts) = 1.2kW after 15 hours
2500 RPM (520 Watts) = 2.6kW after 5 hours
3200 RPM (1060 Watts) = 4.24kW after 4 hours
Total electrical use = 8.04 kWh / day
Total cost (8.04 x $0.13) = $1.05 / day
There are a few things that really help to keep the electrical demand low for this 24 hour filtration schedule. The first is the long hours at low speeds which results in huge filtration totals for very low total power use. Next, instead of 3450 RPM (full speed operation) the maximum speed setting is only 3200. While this represents a rather small, linear drop in flow versus 3450 RPM, there is a huge, non-linear drop in power consumption as you lower RPM speeds. So even a small drop to 3200 makes a considerable difference to the total power used at the higher speeds. Even with this drop to 3200 you can see the few hours at higher speeds accounts for more than 50% of the power used during the day even through it was only 4 of the 24 hours in the day, and only accounts for a little over 25% of the total filtered water.
You do still need periods of time daily at higher flow rates for your pool to circulate well and for your skimmers to function optimally but you definitely want to use the lowest RPM that you can get away with, and the least amount of hours to keep your pool running in good order. It is a little bit of a chore to dial in your variable speed pool pump for maximum savings but once you have it dialed in then very little additional time will need to be devoted to your pool and your pool pump. Even the maintenance of your pool will get easier with an optimally designed and programmed variable speed pump schedule.
To see a comparison to this filtration schedule using this exact same 24 hour pump schedule running on 1.5" pipes instead of 2" pipes you can find this here: SuperPump Filtration Schedule On 1.5" Plumbing
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Swimming Pool Steve is an award winning, second generation swimming pool and spa specialist from Ontario Canada. With over 10,000,000 views on the Swimming Pool Steve YouTube Channel, winner of the 2018 Pool & Spa Industry Leadership award and author of hundreds of pool and spa articles both online and in print Steve is committed to helping pool and spa owners as well as pool and spa industry workers learn more about the technical side of building, renovating, repairing and maintaining all types of swimming pools and spas. Follow Swimming Pool Steve on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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