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Using swimming pool as water source for heat pump AC?
Ok so this may be a VERY silly question but I do not know the answer so please bare with me.
I had a conversation the other day with a friend. He said it was possible to use the water in an in-ground swimming pool as a water source for a heat pump air conditioner? is this in fact possible?
I am sorry if this is a off the wall question but I'd really like to know.
Thanks in advance for any replies
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
Moved to geo forum
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Sorry about that, I realized I posted it in the wrong section after I had posted. Thanks
Originally Posted by beenthere
Professional Member
The pool will not have enough capacity, you will overheat the pool, by law a spa or pool can only be 104 degree's F max.
Professional Member
Try a septic tank lol.
Professional Member
Went to a house once where the owner had avoided the considerable trouble and expense of drilling a well (couldn't do a ground loop) for his water source heat pump by using the swimming pool. . It was during the winter and the heat pump wasn't heating well. The swimming pool was a sheet of ice. After my "Here's your problem!" he insisted that it couldn't be the problem because there was still water in the pool. Out of curiosity I chipped through a couple inches of ice, found water, and of course it measured 32F. I suggested he contact the manufacturer and ask them how much heat the unit would produce using 32F water as a heat source. He got the expected response from them and ended up paying us to install 20KW of electric backup heat. He later paid us to install an air-to-air heat pump, after a winter of high electric bills.
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In a warmer climate, with solar pool heaters........ You might have hit a niche market here Buck O ......... think about it. You have to be able to switch over to another source.... maybe.
Professional Member*
Currently being done by a contractor in phoenix. I am not privy to details but it is a big hit and performs well according to their installers that I have talked to. Here it is
http://www.dialcomfort.com/blu-eq-ge...ooling-system/
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Thanks for the responses.
Is there a way to calculate how much water would be needed per hour of running the AC? The reason this topic came up for me is that I am looking for an inexpensive way to occasionally cool my shed/workshop not my home. I have a 30'x30' with 8' ceiling workshop at my home and I only use the workshop a couple hours at a time on the weekends.
Is there a way to calculate how much water you need? Or is it such a huge amount that it would heat a 15''x30' pool to over 100 degrees in two hours?? Just trying to get an idea exactly how ridiculous this idea is I guess
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Wasn't able to edit that last post...it's a 15' x 30' in ground pool.
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
How many years have they been installing them?
Professional Member*
Regular Guest
Ok so this may be a VERY silly question but I do not know the answer so please bare with me.
I had a conversation the other day with a friend. He said it was possible to use the water in an in-ground swimming pool as a water source for a heat pump air conditioner? is this in fact possible?
I am sorry if this is a off the wall question but I'd really like to know.
Thanks in advance for any replies
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Hmm very interesting. If this person installed a long enough loop between the unit and the pool it might work. Lets say he installed an underground loop long enough to do the job but only used the pool for the water source and not for heat exchange. He would need 2 loops. 1 before the pool in the series so the ground would do the heat exchange without changing the temp of the pool. The 2nd would be after the pool in the series so the water temp could reach ground temp before entering the heat pump. With a couple of tweaks that might work.
Member
My take is that they are a combination type set-up say pool and chiller and an aerator.
Pretty much right there. No chiller but need heat xchanger so you don't run pool water through GEO unit. The heating is done with separate ground xchanger or loop if you will.
Professional Member*
Depends on loads, climate, ground temp, etc. Also must consider aggressive corrosion by pool water.
I'm not saying it can't be done, in fact its on my to-do list of things to try some day, but it isn't necessarily a slam-dunk
Professional Member
In Florida I can put a heat pump on a pool, run it for 24-48 hours on a 15 x 30pool, and it will be 104 degree's, that is a 3 1/2 ton heat pump, the guys at the pool supply house call them 3 /12 HP heat pumps though.
On pools we figure the heat gan/loss by the total surface area, it doesn't matter how deep it is.
So if you have a house with a 3 1/2 ton heat pump and run it using the water in the pool to cool the condenser, after a few days the pool will have reached the maximum temperature, then what are you going to do?
Pools do not have enough capacity, otherwise they would have already been using them.
Professional Member
I agree with all the post regarding pool water capacity, just not there.
How about the chemical treatments used in a swimming pool? Standard heat pump equipment would not tolerate the chemicals in the pool water.
Local 30 New York, New York Operating Engineer
Professional Member
It would have to use an heat exchanger, the pool heat pumps I sell and install have either a titanium heat exchanger or a coated exchanger, I prefer the titanium heat exchangers.
If pool chemistry is properly maintained (which they seldom are) it is not a concern though.
Member
They use an aerator to "cool the pool".
Professional Member
How much heat can you dump aerating a pool?
This as well as the increased heat will cause water loss and increased chemical cost, not to mention making the pool too hot to use.
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