Pentair IntelliFLO pump – This Rocks!

Variable Speed Pool Pumps – The Future of Swimming Pools

By choosing the proper pump, Swimming pool owners can expect savings of at least $400/year.

The high energy usage of their swimming pool is something that very few pool owners truly understand.  In fact, the pool motor is actually one of the largest energy guzzling appliances they have in their home.  It’s because standard pool and spa pumps are made with a single stage motor, that is very in-efficient.  In the past, energy supply has been plentiful and energy saving efforts have not been considered – a norm in the pool and spa industry.

My existing pool pump is using how much electricity? A study recently showed that to run California’s 1.2 million pools and spas demands roughly the same production as one nuclear power or two conventional energy plants (study by Davis Energy Group for Pacific Gas & Electric – 2004).  Imagine the energy usage of ALL the swimming pools across the United States, and how this much impact our electricity conservation efforts.  Arizona also has an incredible quantity of private swimming pools per home, which is why AZ pool contractors are switching to these incredible new pumps.

The solution? Pumps that work smarter, not harder.

In the recent years, there have been some dramatic improvements in the swimming pool industry – regarding pool pumps and pool motors.  The newest in electricity savings has come from the introduction of the revolutionary variable drive, variable speed pool pump.  Designed and manufactured to use less power, these new pumps are using permanent magnetic motors.  Permanent magnet motors, usually used in hybrid cars, provide about 30% power savings over standard induction motors. By simply programming the pump to work at the least required speed for each pool task (heating, cleaning, filtration, waterfalls, etc.) electricity reduction can be as much as 90%!

By using a pool pump at its minimum speed needed to complete a job, it will drastically minimize the energy usage (merely because it uses less electricity to push water slowly than rapidly).  Did you know?  By reducing pump speed by half reduces electricity needed to an eighth of what was needed previously to get the job done.  Simply put, these new pumps allow the pool and spa owner to program and “dial in” the pump speed to achieve the minimum energy use.

Energy Savings of $620 to $1,350

According to Pentair Pool Products, their IntelliFlo® and IntelliPro™ variable drive pumps routinely reduce energy use up to ninety %, depending on the models and circumstances for average savings of $620 to $1,350 annually.  Based on normal pool and spa usage over one to two years, many pool owners are updating their old pumps because a new variable drive pump will actually pay for itself.

Energy delivery charges are even higher in Arizona, and with Phoenix’s huge swimming pool count, this new swimming pool pump has become an absolute necessity for pool builders in AZ when constructing swimming pools.  The recent movement to energy efficient products makes switching to a GREEN industry pool pump even more desirable in California too.

Specific Examples of how IntelliFlo pumps by Pentair can be factored in your swimming pool:

This pool pump can be used for an in-floor cleaning system pump, and it’s set at 3050 RPM, which is equivalent to a 2 HP pool pump.  The same pool pump can be throttled down to a 1/2 horsepower pool pump to circulate & filter the water of the pool.  With some easy computer automation, the same swimming pool pump can be used as a booster pump for the spa jets (imagine a slow speed therapy and a high speed jet – all from the same swimming pool pump, and a press of a button!)  Another great use is the ability to control the volume of a fountain or pool water feature (it is also known to be used by high end residential Phoenix landscape design companies to manage the flow & sound of custom landscape water features and fountains).  The IntelliFlo Pentair pump can be programmed for two speeds (actually more) -  giving you a low speed waterfall for a quiet evening outside, or you can ramp it faster for FULL EFFECT for a family gathering!