The sweltering summer heat can mean diving into your swimming pool — and high diving deep into energy costs.

With temperatures starting to rise, you may be eyeing the swimming pool to help cool you off this summer. If you have a pool at your home, you likely are not yearning as much for those summer bills that reflect your pool’s energy use. ENERGY STAR® reports that your pool pump can add more than $500 to your annual energy bills. If your pool pump is older or inefficient, an upgrade could help save you money.

Variable speed pool pumps with the ENERGY STAR certification use variable speed compressors that work only as hard as needed. Conventional pool pumps use the same pump speed for all tasks, such as for filtration, which requires half the energy use as pool vacuuming, ENERGY STAR reports. Conventional pool pumps over time will use significantly more electricity, meaning higher energy bills in the summer months (when the air conditioner is already leading to higher energy costs). ENERGY STAR-certified variable speed pool pumps can significantly reduce your home’s energy use, saving up to more than $400 in energy costs each year.

IT’S (RELATIVELY) WHISPER QUIET!

…when running at lower speeds. A variable speed pool pump’s lower speed can still handle filtering the pool over a moderately longer period of time. Some variable speed pool pumps can be programmed to filter overnight, helping shift power use away from peak periods of the day. Best of all, the quieter compressor does the job without keeping everyone wide awake.

If your pump is struggling or is close to 10 years old, it may be time consider a replacement. Fortunately, your electric co-op can make it more attractive! Your local cooperative can offer a $250 Power Moves® rebate for qualifying ENERGY STAR-certified pool pump upgrades.

You can contact your local co-op’s energy advisor or visit
www.PowerMoves.com for details. For more information on ENERGY STAR-certified pool pumps that can save money in long-term energy costs, visit www.EnergyStar.gov.