Your pump helps you keep your pool water clean and healthy. It’s important to run it at least once a day to ensure water circulation. Stagnant water attracts algae and so does warm temperature.
That said, consider extending the time you’re running your pool pump during the summer season. On winter days, meanwhile, you can get away with a reduced run time as bacteria and algae are also less active at this period.
To determine how long per day you should run your pool pump, check first your pump’s turnover rate. The turnover rate refers to the period of time in which the pump is able to circulate all the water in your pool through the filter. You can find this out by dividing the pool volume with your pump’s filtration rate, and finally multiplying it to two.
For your pool’s volume or capacity, meanwhile, you can consult your pool builder. Or you can also work on the computation yourself. This process, however, also requires pool measurements – your pool’s average depth, length, width, and finally the amount of water it can hold per cubic foot, which varies depending on the shape of your pool. Multiply these figures altogether and the product would be the volume of your pool in gallons.
Aside from the pool volume, another factor to look into is the size of your filter. If your pump size is large for your pool, then you can lessen the pump operation time.
Normally, a pool pump would complete 2-3 cycles in a day. The downside though with running your pump 24 hours every day is that this costs a lot. At least one complete cycle a day could be enough, of course taking into consideration the weather condition and the pool usage.
Reducing operation time for your pump also allows you to save on power bill. Consider investing in a pool pump timer. You can as well help your pool pump perform efficiently by ensuring regular pool maintenance and that includes cleaning your pool filter. The simple habit of taking a shower before swimming can also help lessen pool contaminants.
