Today, there’s a much greater concern of environmental issues. As consumers, we face high-energy prices, tighter water restrictions and more expensive water supplies, and have a greater awareness of our global impact. Fortunately, equipment manufacturers have the solutions available to keep our impact on the environment to a minimum. New technologies and smarter product designs allow pool owners to make better environmental choices and enjoy lower lifetime costs.

When you think about your swimming pool’s equipment, keep in mind these three things, filtration, circulation, and sanitization. These three functions must be performed to keep your pool water clear and your family protected from contaminants.

By evaluating all of these functions, you can determine how to make your pool more environmentally friendly, and energy efficient.

Filtration is removing the particulates from the water. Without it, your water appears cloudy or green. There are 3 common types of filters used in swimming pool applications. They are cartridge, sand, and diatomaceous earth (DE). There are several factors to consider when choosing which filter is right for your pool. Cartridge filters are generally the least expensive, however they are also generally the least effective. They do not require backwashing, keeping water waste to a minimum. However they may require longer run times to adequately filter your pool’s water. Cartridge filter can filter out particles as small as 30 microns (an average grain of beach sand is 1,000 microns). Sand filters are one of the most effective filters and can filter out particles as small as 10 to 20 microns. Sand filters require very little maintenance but by design, require frequent backwashing, which increases your pools demand for water. DE filters are the most effective type of filter and can remove particles as small as 5 microns. DE filters need to be taken apart and cleaned periodically. They also have the ability to be backwashed, which can reduce the frequency of required cleaning. However, if you avoid backwashing and simply clean the DE filter periodically, you can enjoy crystal clear water and at the same time reduce your pools demand for water.

Circulation is also required for clean healthy pool water. Circulation is how you move the water through your pools filter. Today’s modern, multi-speed, energy efficient motors can cut your pools energy use to a fraction of its current demand. When you combine these energy efficient motors with an automated system, the synergistic savings can often pay for the new equipment in just a few short months. Low speed motors need to be run twice as long, however they use one fourth of the electricity. Automated controls and multi-speed motors allow your pool cleaner, solar heating, salt systems, and filtration system to operate at the lowest speed needed for each individual function. The energy savings can be quite significant.

Finally, one of the most important functions needed to keep your family safe from harmful bacteria and recreational water illnesses (RWI’s), sanitization. Sanitization is the method used to actually kill bacteria and algae spores. The most common is Chlorine. Chlorine is very susceptible to UV destruction so a stabilizer (cyanuric acid) is required for outdoor pools. The greenest way to sanitize your pool with chlorine is through a chlorine generator. Electrolytic chlorine generation or Salt systems, generate all the chlorine your pool needs using basic table salt. Electrolytic generation is the easiest, most efficient, and convenient way to keep your pool sparkling and healthy. There is no need to buy, store, and transport all of those hazardous chemicals. However, salt systems are prohibited in many cities in the United States, and will be banned in many more cities soon. Another option is available for sanitizing your pool’s water. Copper/silver ionization. Copper and silver are excellent sanitizers and eliminate the swimmers exposure to chlorine. Copper has been used to kill algae for 1200 years. Nasa used copper ionization to provide drinking water to the Astronauts on the Apollo mission. Silver is known for its ability to kill bacteria. Pioneers stored copper and silver coins in their drinking water to keep it algae and bacteria free. Silver has been used in medicines since the 1800’s, there were four dozen silver based medications up until 1938 when Penicillin was introduced. Copper/silver ionizers kill bacteria and algae spores in your pool’s water, and almost eliminate the need for any chlorine. They are by far the most “green” sanitizers available. A pool sanitized with chlorine requires a residual chlorine level of 1.5 ppm (parts per million). Ionized pools require a residual chlorine level of 0.4 ppm. You can almost eliminate you and your family’s exposure chlorine, and the water is safe for your plants and your pets.

Calm Water Pool Service offers free consultation on upgrading or improving your swimming pool’s equipment. If you would like to learn more, please call to schedule a no cost consultation. 858-259-0236

Tips for going green

• Run your circulation system during off peak hours. 11pm to 7am.

• Covering your pool when not in use is the single most effective means of reducing pool-heating costs. According to the Department of Energy, almost three-quarters of the heat lost by a pool is due to evaporation. By minimizing evaporation, pool covers significantly reduce heating needs and save energy, often as much as 50% to 70%. Minimizing evaporation also reduces the amount of make-up water needed by 30% to 50%. Finally, pool covers keep contaminants and debris out of the water, lowering your pool's chemical consumption by 35% to 60% and reducing the filtration system's energy consumption. Automatic pool covers make it especially easy to be environmentally conscious.
• Use alternative sanitizing systems. We install ionizing systems that virtually eliminate chemicals in your pool rendering its water “drinkable”. Chlorine generators (salt systems) also eliminate the need to buy and transport liquid chlorine.
• Upgrade your pumps to variable speed highly efficient models. These units are quiet, and use one fourth of the energy that older pumps use, and they often pay for themselves in one year.
• Upgrade your heater. High performance heaters offer superior energy efficiency, faster heating performance, and are certified for low NOx emissions.
• Install filters that allow use of lower pump speeds to minimize energy use. Rinse the filters rather than backwash, and significantly reduce water use.
• Install LED pool and spa lights. Color-changing LED lights use 50% to 70% less energy, and last thousands of hours longer than incandescent lights
• Optimize energy use with the use of automated control systems. Synchronize equipment scheduling for synergistic energy savings. This also prevents problems and waste caused by relying on memory or limited time clocks to operate or deactivate equipment.
• Install solar heating. Take advantage of our sunny climate and enjoy an extra month or two of swimming each year.