If you Google the question of “should the pool pump run 24/7? you will get a lot of answers. As swimming pool professionals at Seahorse Pools in Fort Worth, Texas explain, the number of hours the pool pump runs a day depends on many, many factors.
Can you run the pool pump all day, every day? Sure, but you might not need to and if you don’t, then you may save money on the pool costs attributed to your home utility bills.
Should the pool pump run 24/7?
What are some of the factors that go into the answer of how long the pool pump should run?
- The circulation your pump puts out
- The chemical balancing
- The cost
What does the swimming pool pump do?
First and foremost the pool pump circulates the water in the pool. If the water didn’t circulate it would quickly become home for algae and the playground for mosquitoes. The pump circulates the water and the chemicals through the water. It moves the water through the filter and that cleans the water before it’s pushed back into the pool.
All of the pool water should be moved through the filter completely every day — that is the water turnover you may have heard your pool contractor talk about. The turnover rate will determine how long the pool pump needs to run a day. How is that determined?
- The total pool volume of water
- Divide that by 8
- This gives you the number of gallons per hour that needs to be pumped through the filter
There are other factors to figure out — the shape of the pool being one as well as the horsepower of the pool pump.
Ask us, the next time we pay a service visit just how long the pump needs to be run a day. We do recommend running the pump in the overnight hours because the energy charge is typically lower at night and that might help you save money. Consider adding a timer to the pool pump so you can set it and forget it.