CyprusLiving

Hi
Has anyone installed a new type pool pump that runs of solar panels I have also been advised you can get 55% contribution/grant from the government.i have been quoted £4000

Best rgds

Stewart

Stewart, we thought about it as it seems to be worth the money and good quality for cells and the 12V pump.
But we were skeptical to receive the grant in a reasonable time as others confirmed.
Therefore we postponed our decision for the moment as the state runs out of money.

Having nearly keeled over at my last electricity bill when nobodies actually been in residence, I would be seriously interested in the answers. I wasn't aware there was a grant available!

Yes, I have and there is a very noticeable saving on the bills. I have still not received the grant promised and it is over a year since having the system installed. I think during the present price climate it will pay for itself much more quickly than we originally though so to my mind even without receiving the grant yet it was a good investment. One point to note is that when cleaning we use the original electric pump which is in parrallel with the solar pump to vacuum the pool as it has much more suction power and basically does a better job
We are intending to have a system installed later this year that will supplement the cost of underfloor heating by 33% as the cost of heating oil is spiralling out of control.

Jim B

rogesse wrote:Having nearly keeled over at my last electricity bill when nobodies actually been in residence, I would be seriously interested in the answers. I wasn't aware there was a grant available!

Cheap & cheerful solution to your problem is to have a look at how many hours per day your pump is running.
Some pool cleaners like to run it for ages as this reduces the effort they have to put in (often the frequency with which they show up at all if they think the owners aren't around to check).

One guy that used to look after my pool had my pump running 10 hours per day. Now I do it myself & stay on top of things the pool is happy with 4 hours. That's a huge difference to your electricity bill

Stank Olly wrote: One guy that used to look after my pool had my pump running 10 hours per day. Now I do it myself & stay on top of things the pool is happy with 4 hours. That's a huge difference to your electricity bill

it makes a big difference if you run your pool with salt water. For a usual poolsize/pump-ratio you can divide the pump running time in half. Otherwise you must be in alert to keep a good water quality or you have to overdose chlorine.

nick wrote:

Stank Olly wrote: One guy that used to look after my pool had my pump running 10 hours per day. Now I do it myself & stay on top of things the pool is happy with 4 hours. That's a huge difference to your electricity bill

it makes a big difference if you run your pool with salt water. For a usual poolsize/pump-ratio you can divide the pump running time in half. Otherwise you must be in alert to keep a good water quality or you have to overdose chlorine.

No expert so will take your work for it re: salt water.

Mr 10 hours was fired (not for that, he scammed me with a quite obviously ficticious repair job) & the guy that took over ran my pump for 6 hours per day without a problem for 18 months. That struck me as very reasonable as you can't expect a maintenance guy to pay the daily attention you can make if it's your own place but it showed that he was taking regular care of the pool.

I freely admit that 4 hours is unrealistic for someone that is not in regular attendance but I've found that staying on top of skimming/vacuuming whenever there are bits in the water has meant that I don't use massive amounts of chlorine.

Hi Critch 435
I think Photovoltaic cells for pol swimming pool pumps is going to be the correct way forward,can you tell what system you have installed DC TO AC would like to know.
Our Company looked into this about 4 years ago, but the only problem was the cost of the pumps. Still looking for alternatives this would then keep prices down for end users. I have seen the other posts regarding pump running times, depending on your pool pump size a pool should have its water turned over every eight ours. I agree in winter you could reduce down by 50%. With regards to the Salt post you are generating Chlorine,plus other by products that can be very aggressive to your swimming pool water and equipment. Al more reason to run your pump for correct times.
Regards Steve.

I was in the Shipshape pool place last week and saw a variable speed pump which was €1250+vat and it runs the pool at 250 watts and is turned up to a higher setting when you backwash or vacuum the pool.

This costs less that the photovoltaic route and there is a lot of doubt about the grants as the government has no money to spend on grants.

I have not yet bought one of these pumps so cannot say that that they really save money but they should.

I have 2 customers who run solar pumps, both are running great.
One is now 3 years old, I picked up the grant for him one year after installation.
Yes you need to vac on the old electric pump on cloudy days, but I have not had any problems with these systems.
Ok the outlay is a lot but if your planning to stay its a good investment.

As for the shipshape pump, that too is a great saving.
If you think a 1 hp pump uses 1 unit of electricity per hour running, so with the new pump you should 1/4 your power usage.

Chris