Common Mistakes With Variable Speed Pumps
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This article is about the (very) common mistakes that pool owners make with variable speed pool pumps and VS pool pump filtration scheduling. While buying and installing a variable speed pump is literally one of the single biggest efficiency improvements that you can make to your home you can completely invalidate all of these cost and energy savings benefits simply by implementing the technology wrong. This article will help you to understand these common mistakes with variable speed pumps so that you can avoid this problem and actually benefit from lower operating costs and more dynamic filtration of your pool as intended with this new pump technology
With the cost of variable speed pool pumps being so high it is more important than ever to learn how to use this technology to maximum benefit. If you are upgrading from a single speed pool pump to a variable speed pool pump due to the Department of Energy requirement making single speed pumps no longer available then you might not even be convinced that the new pump will save you money. Rest assured, with proper programming and use there is more than ample opportunity to recoup the (entire) purchase price of the pump back over time. Additionally you now have a dynamic tool for a filtration pump, able to change to meet the specific demands of each part and peripheral component on your pool, so in addition to saving money you can improve the quality of the operation and filtration of your pool. In order to do this we need to avoid some very common mistakes that pool owners tend to make with a new variable speed pump.
Using a single speed pool pump was never ideal. They are extremely loud due to the 3450 RPM operation and for the same reason they are a power hog. For a reduction of RPM by half there is a reduction in flow rate of approximately half. The power consumption does not reduce by half. It reduces by eight times. Conversely, as you push the motor RPM higher towards 3450 RPM there is a massive increase in power consumed. When you filter a pool with a single speed pool pump what you are actually doing is moving water very inefficiently due to friction and turbulence in the pipe. A salt cell might need 20 GPM to operate but a single speed pump might be capable of only delivering 80 GPM. The same goes for a heater that needs 30 GPM to operate, or 60 GPM for optimal heating, but the pump can only deliver 80 GPM. This is how pool systems used to work. It was actually very wasteful, inefficient and unprecise. Variable speed pumps change everything in this regard as you can now only the amount of power (flow) you need at any specific time. You no longer need to overkill with excessive noise, power consumption and flow rate. You can utilize a non-linear drop in power consumption as the RPM of the motor is lowered, and you can dial in the flow rates you need to meet the needs of your pool and pool equipment.
Avoid running your variable speed pump at one speed - If you install a new variable speed pump and then run it at 3450 RPM around the clock then you have failed in your mission to reduce power consumption and energy costs for your pool operation. Single speed pumps are remarkably inefficient due to their high RPM operation, and if you run a variable speed pool pump at high speed all the time, then you have exactly what you had before, except that you overpaid massively for a variable speed drive and controller which you are currently not using. At least if you are going to set one speed and forget it, at least reduce this speed down from maximum slightly. Even a small reduction in motor RPM will result in noticeable energy savings while experiencing only minor drops in actual flow rates. Ideally you want a dynamic filtration schedule with periods of time at low, medium and higher speeds. This will yield the greatest return on your investment for energy efficiency improvements.
Avoid running your variable speed pump on low speed 24/7 - Low speed operation is where the majority of your electrical savings will happen with a variable speed pool pump, however just as running on high speed all day is a bad idea, so too is running on too low of a speed all day. Most pools will require more than the minimal flow rates of 10, 15 or 20 GPM, which is what you might experience running your pump on a very low RPM all day. With every pool being unique when it comes to resistance to flow built into the system you should be careful that you are moving any water at all when on low speed operation. A flow meter is the best way to accomplish this. Even if you do have a flow meter and you know the low speed operation does in fact move water on your system, most pools will require periods of time at higher than the minimum RPM operation. Pool heaters, electric heat pumps, salt chlorinators, pool skimmers...all of these will not operate well, or at all, with a variable speed pump only running on very low RPM.
Avoid installing a pump that is too large - It is extremely common to find pool pumps which are larger in size than the pool system in which they are installed. It is very common for pool owners to select pool pumps with a "bigger is better" mentality which can lead to inefficient pool systems, but also sometimes dangerous pool systems. When a pool pump is oversized it will fail to operate efficiently and this can even lead to early failure of the pump. If you want to move more water in a pool then you use larger pipe sizes, not larger pump sizes. Fast moving water is inefficient. In addition to this pool entrapment safety takes into consideration water velocity. Oversizing of the pool pump can result in water velocity that exceeds safe standards and this can create an unsafe situation for swimmers. It is counter-intuitive but most pool owners would be better advised to go a step or two down in horsepower as opposed to up in horsepower. Better still would be to consult with a local pool professional who can help you in sizing the correct pool pump for your system.
Most swimming pools will benefit from operating a 24 hour variable speed run schedule where you have a handful of hours at or near high speed operation. A periods of time perhaps double this amount operating at mid-speed RPM range, 2000 or so RPM, and the remainder of the 24 hour day at lower RPM ranges such that your system is achieving at least 20 GPM or so. Every swimming pool is unique, which is why this is worded with vague language, but it does help illustrate what the average swimming pool filtration system should look like, and you should then try to adapt this as a starting point for applying this to your pool situation. The more peripheral devices you have like salt chlorinators, heaters, heat pumps etc. then the more dynamic your ideal filtration schedule will need to be. The more simple and straight forward your pool system is the less demanding your pool filtration schedule needs to be. If you are still unsure how to apply this information to your pool and your variable speed pump then you can always just Ask Steve and I will try to help you.
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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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