FREE HEAT! Heat you pool at low or zero cost!

Gas: Lower inital costs for gas heaters may be negated by installing the gas line to the pool shed! Check with your local Gas supplier for details.
Gas is traditionally the "brute force" of the pool heating systems, and is better suited to "weekend use" pools - where the pool heater is turned on on Thursday or Friday for a heated weekend, then switched off once the pool reaches the required temperature.
Pools are great "heat sinks" and will retain temperature for many days without further heating - providing the thermal cover is put back on after using the pool! In larger Gas Heater systems, the water coming out of the gas heater may be 40 degrees C - thus ensuring that the pool will be "warm" within a matter of 6 to 8 hours!

Smaller systems such as the Hurlcon (see www.austral.co.nz ) are "maintenance" heaters, and work in a similar fashion to heat pumps: i.e. they consume less gas, but must be "on" all the swimming season.
COST? Maintenance heaters around $3,000 + GST larger units +$4,500 - running costs: call your local gas board - but it won't be cheap with the larger units!
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There are a few ways to heat your pool - starting at zero cost!
PASSIVE HEAT Sunlight is the simplest way!	Maximise the sunstrike on the pool area! Keep away from trees shading the pool, and locate your pool for the maximum sun strike! This is the cheapest and most effective way to heat your pool. The cost? --- ZERO! Our rating?
	A Solar or Thermobubble pool cover from CASCADE (free with all ULTIMATE pools) is a low cost, yet effective, way to add temperature to your pool! A thermobubble cover will add up to 5 degrees C in summer months, and the insulation factor will keep the heat in at night! A $795.00 cover roller is an optional extra, but the lightweight thermobubble covers are easily removed and folded for temporary storage. The cost? Around $17.50 per square meter ( a 4.5 x 9.0 pool cover would cost around $800). Our rating?
Wall Insulation: Cascade includes 90mm refrigeration-grade insulated wall system in its ULTIMATE pool range. Used in conjunction with the thermal pool cover, you will be assured of the maximum heat input and minimum heat loss through the pool walls, as the high grade close-cell foam insulated walls keeps the heat in. This means a warmer pool with reduced heating bills (we have been told of 30% heating cost savings!) Typically, the Cascade vynide interior pools are already the most efficient at retaining heat, with fibreglass pools running second, and concrete a distant third. Cost? adds around $35 per lineal meter, or $800 - $1,000 to a typical pool. Our rating?
	Solar Panels: arguably a great source of "free heat", the solar collectors fit onto your north-facing roof, and collect solar energy (even on overcast days) to heat your pool. A small pump (350w up to 750w - depending on how far - or high - your roof is from the pool) will send the pool water to the collectors. It's preferable to have a separate suction and return line for this setup - and ideally a temperature differential thermometer setup to tell the system to shut down if the roof water temperature is LOWER than the pool water. Solar setups work best in mid summer, and may not add much to your swimming season, but nevertheless, if there is SUN, you will gather the "free" solar energy and your pool WILL be heated! Our Rating? click here for more on solar
ACTIVE HEAT
Gas: Lower inital costs for gas heaters may be negated by installing the gas line to the pool shed! Check with your local Gas supplier for details. Gas is traditionally the "brute force" of the pool heating systems, and is better suited to "weekend use" pools - where the pool heater is turned on on Thursday or Friday for a heated weekend, then switched off once the pool reaches the required temperature. Pools are great "heat sinks" and will retain temperature for many days without further heating - providing the thermal cover is put back on after using the pool! In larger Gas Heater systems, the water coming out of the gas heater may be 40 degrees C - thus ensuring that the pool will be "warm" within a matter of 6 to 8 hours! Smaller systems such as the Hurlcon (see www.austral.co.nz ) are "maintenance" heaters, and work in a similar fashion to heat pumps: i.e. they consume less gas, but must be "on" all the swimming season. COST? Maintenance heaters around $3,000 + GST larger units +$4,500 - running costs: call your local gas board - but it won't be cheap with the larger units! Our rating?
Heat Pumps:
Magically - free heat from the atmosphere!	Working on a similar (but opposite) principle to a refrigerator, heat pumps extract ambient heat from its surroundings - so locate it in a sunny, warm place (one customer of Cascade's located his heat pump in the wall of the garden shed - which he then painted dark green. The temperature inside the shed was +40 degrees C - and ensured a low heating bill!). Even the heat generated by the pool pump can be "re-cycled" to heat your pool! With electricity typically costing 7 to 9 cents a Kw, a 1.8 or 2.4 Kw heat pump costs mere pennies to run per hour, and heating your pool for 6 months use at 26 to 28 degrees can cost as little as $3 per day. Luxury at a low cost! COST: Starting at $5,950 for a typical 40 square meter pool, $7,950 for the larger sizes. Our rating? Note: A heat retention pool cover will minimise heat loss overnight - so use it!
There are several companies offering effective pool heating utilising the heat pump principle AQUA CAL Heat Pumps HOT WATER Heat PumpsLimited
e&oe - without prejudice