Pool Heater 250K BTU Pentair MiniMax NT - how to read yellow Energy Rating Report?

[M. Osborne]

I am putting in a pool, and the Pool supplier provided a 250,000 BTU Pentair MiniMax NT unit. I mentioned beforehad I had heard that many units cost $5-30/day to run, and I wanted the most efficient unit possible (in reason, cost/efficiency).

When I got the unit (not installed yet), it had a yellow energy rating sheet on the side.

Blah, Blah, Compared to similair models, this unit's efficiency ranks:

78 - 82 - - - - - - 97

Is 82% bad? Should I have my vendor provide a different solution? Or does it simply take so much money per day to run a 250K BTU unit, regardless of efficiency?

Thank you! Mike

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Start with the Btu per hour. Your utility company can tell you what it costs to buy that much energy. Let's say it is $10.

You buy the energy and you fuel your heater with it. In the most efficient units, the 97% ones, 242,500 Btu of energy will get to your pool, the rest goes up the stack. So, for every $10 in energy cost, 30¢ is wasted. Now you compare it with the 82% efficient unit, 205,000 Btu is heating your pool, 45,000 is going to the atmosphere. For every $10 spent, 1.80 is wasted.

Yes, it will take so much per day to run the 250k unit regardless of efficiency, but how much actually goes to heating and how much goes to waste is a big factor. So, what will it cost you to run the unit? Depends on how cold the water is, how much you want to warm it, what the outside temperature is, etc. In Arizona in August, it will cost nothing. In North Dakota in February, it will cost a hell of a lot. Ed [e-mail]

[Richard J Kinch]

Let's put it this way. What are you willing to spend on power to heat your pool? $50/month, $100/month, $500/month, $1000/month?

I expect you have no realistic idea how ridiculously expensive pool heating is, no matter what the efficiency.

[J.Caldwell]