Golf Blog by The Orlando Golf Blogger

I know you’re probably asking what does twitter and Pentair Pool Pumps have in common and the answer is the worlds greatest (self proclaimed) golf blogger.

So here’s my story.

A couple months back I was on twitter complaining about my crazy high electricity bills, I had just received the bill and it was a whopping $436 dollars.. WHAT?!?

I couldn’t figure it out because we keep our house at 78 degrees, occasionally we’ll drop it to 76, but 98% of the time it’s at a constant 78 degrees. The ac unit is brand new, installed earlier this year and it’s a 14 seer unit. Also, last year we had the insulation replaced and they blew in something like four feet. I was only running the pool pump for four hours a day (which I realize now was why I was spending $50 bucks a week in chemicals) to keep the electricity bill low. It’s pretty darn frustrating to be investing all this money into making the house MORE energy efficient and all my efforts were for naught.

So I’m on twitter ranting about it asking for advice trying to find out what the problem is. The next morning, I receive an email from the publicist for Pentair Pool Pumps who says he saw my post on twitter and they want to come out, take a look at the pump I’m using and if they think they can noticeably lower my bill, they’ll come out and install the new pump for free.

Yeah, right, free… We all know the first rule of economics….

So they send their guy out and he takes a look at the pool pump I’m using and says, yep, I think we can get you hooked up with a unit that will not only save you money, but will also run for 12 hours a day.

So I learned something about running your pool pump, during the summer (especially here in Orlando) you need to run it for at least eight hours a day, the reason for this is that the constant circulation helps keep the temperature of the water down, which in turn helps deter the algae from growing and making algae babies in your pool. SINCE I was running it for only four hours a day, the pool was getting greener faster and costing me more money in chemicals… (so much for my brilliant cost cutting measure..)

But, I digress..

Well, sure enough, a couple weeks after they took a look at the pump, the Orlando rep called me to schedule a time for him to come out and install the new unit. I scheduled it, they came out and installed (free-o-charge) a new Pentair Pool IntelliFlo VS-3050 Intelligent Variable Speed Pump.

This is a really cool, energy efficient pool pump that emits virtually no sound whilst it operates. It has four speeds that you can set it to, depending on your needs. I have mine set on two and it’s working like a charm.

When I say virtually no sound, I mean it, I can’t tell the pumps running unless I’m within three feet of it, it’s awesome!

I think this is going to be a case study/promotional deal for them. I sent them all the electricity bills & energy usage numbers from last year and we’re going to compare them to this years results.

I’ve had one full month’s usage out of it and so far I’ve noticed a decrease in my bill from last years rate. Keep in mind that in 2009, they increase the rate for every 1000 kilowatt hours by 25%, so for it to be lower means that it had to be a significant kilowatt reduction in usage. I’ll post up the exact numbers tomorrow, I tried to access my account online and they’re doing some maintenance on it.

Below is Sept – Jan. January was an exceptionally cold month for us, so the heater was actually turned on for once!!

Month	2008 Bill	2009 Bill	2008 kWh Usage	2009 kWh Usage
September	$332.23	$335.81	2714	2412
October	$329.44	$292.22	2692	2110
November	$201.39	$246.73	1683	1795
December	$190.85	$216.56	1600	1586
Month	2009 Bill	2010 Bill	2009 kWh Usage	2010 kWh Usage
January	$201.39	$246.73	1683	2266
February	$269.10	$263.24	1751	1802

Here’s some promo info I received on the unit.

Technology innovations that have led efficiency gains in other industries are now being adopted by pool owners for impressive results. There are opportunities to lower the operating costs of a pool.  Variable speed pumps dramatically decrease utility costs while performing better than traditional pumps

• Historically, pool pumps have used inefficient single-speed or two-speed drives, often with undersized plumbing and filters that strain the pump even further, turning the operation into costly noisemakers.

• Plus, in a typical one or two-speed pump, motor speed is almost always set too high, wasting energy. A variable speed pump can be programmed for the exact requirements of each pool task (cleaner, filter, water features, etc.).

• Optimal speeds tend to be slower speeds. The ideal pump runs longer at lower speeds, adjusting to increased or decreased pumping requirements as necessary. Reducing the speed of the pump by half reduces its energy requirements to one-eighth of the higher speed. It also drastically reduces noise.

• The IntelliFlo variable speed pump uses the same permanent magnet motor technology found in hybrid cars and proprietary software and digital controls to reduce energy usage by up to 90 percent. It is quieter than a whisper, emitting just 7-10 decibels.

• The National Resources Defense Council estimates that in a community with a four-month pool season, upgrading from a single-speed to a variable speed pump will save the average homeowners $350 per year. Upgrading to a more efficient heater will save an additional $150 per year. For comparison, the average total annual savings for an Energy Star®-labeled home compared to a standard efficiency home is $250 to $700.

• Many communities have laws and/or utility incentives to promote these technologies. At present, that is not the case in Orlando.

If you’re interested in learning more, click IntelleFlo VS-3050 for a PDF fact sheet.

Talk about the power of twitter eh?? I’ll be keeping you guys updated on the savings if you’re interested and many thanks to Pentair for making this happen!

-Dave