By Tom Redman
If you were the last on your block to switch from VHS to DVD, just recently traded in your beeper for a cellphone or were taken by surprise by the evolution of ‘digital TV,’ don’t worry: your secret is safe. However, if you are still under the impression that gas heaters are the only game in town when it comes to heating swimming pools, then you will be surprised. Heat pumps do work—even in Canada!
Maximizing investments
Before discussing heat pump benefits and operation, it is important to understand why homeowners heat their pools in the first place and what choice they’ve made to achieve this goal.
Homeowners heat their pools to extend the swimming season, thus maximizing their investment. However, those in the industry will find each family has a different definition for this phrase. Some families do not decide they will be swimming over the weekend until Friday afternoon, while others want to be in the pool as soon as they get home. Others are perfectly happy to wait longer before jumping in the pool, as long as it means they can avoid increasing their gas bill.
When faced with the decision of how to heat the pool, most households will fall into one of two main categories—gas heater (in driving lingo, a muscle car) or heat pump (a hybrid vehicle). Drivers of both vehicle types all want to get to a particular speed; similarly, owners of both heater types want to heat pool water to a certain temperature—it’s just a question of how.
For example, those interested in muscle cars are usually more concerned about going fast and how quickly the vehicle can reach a certain speed. This is similar to gas heater owners, who are concerned with having heat on demand and are not worried about the costs involved in achieving what they want.
This is not to say those interested in hybrid vehicles are not concerned about speed. These owners also want to go fast; however, they do not mind attaining a certain speed at a more gradual pace in the effort to save fuel costs. The same can be said about heat pump owners. They are interested in swimming in warm water as well, but do not mind waiting before taking a dip.
One size does not fit all
By now the connection between muscle/hybrid vehicle owners and gas/heat pump heater owners should be clear; however, what many may not realize is, ‘one size does not fit all.’ When following up on a pool heating lead, get to know the customer first before sizing up the pool and quoting a price. What is the family hoping to achieve and what is their realistic budget?
If a heat pump is installed on a swimming pool at a household where a gas heater would be a better fit, it could be a mistake that comes back to haunt a dealer. In this case, dealers may be faced with customer complaints, such as “This thing is not working, I turned it on two hours ago!” or “But the party is tomorrow!” Conversely, when a family gets a gas heater for their pool when they should have received a heat pump, there is a good chance they may never turn the unit on again after receiving their first gas bill.
Neither pool heating method is perfect; however, matching the proper system to a particular family’s needs makes the dealer a hero in their customer’s eyes, which in turn can bring word-of-mouth referrals.
