The problem of the cost in terms of maintenance is a matter of little consideration in the minds of customers when they think about buying a pool. In fact, many people are stopping for years on the basis of the consideration that having a swimming pool has a high maintenance cost.
In fact, thanks to the facilities and systems that have been released on the market in the last decade, the costs of maintaining a pool have been significantly reduced and are quite affordable.
For the sake of clarity, I have decided to consider each aspect of consumption, so that you can see how much you are going to spend on each item.
The swimming pool taken as an example is a classic 10x5 size skimmer pool, for the seasonal season from May 15th to September 15th
1 - COST OF THE POOL WATER
a) Once a year, every pool (of any type and size) must be completely emptied and filled with new and clean water. Usually this operation is carried out at the beginning of the season, when the pool is opened again for summer use.
During this phase the walls of the pool must be cleaned and treated after the winter period to remove impurities and dirt that have settled on the bottom and sides.
Some people would like to use the water of the well to fill the pool but, to be honest, even the quality of the water should not be underestimated and it is much better to use the municipal waterworks that allows to reduce the use of disinfectant products or anti-algae in the future. And NO, it is no longer convenient to call a cistern because the cost would eventually be greater.
b) To this must be added the costs of daily water topping up, which mainly due to evaporation drops by about half a cm a day.
c) Other water consumption consists of the operation called filter washing. This operation is used to free the filter from polluting material such as silt, insects, soil, hair and small leaves that end up clogging.
TOTAL COST OF THE POOL WATER = € 330/380
(considering an average rate of € 2.50 per m ᵌ)
2 - ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF THE POOL
The main electrical consumption of the pool is constituted by the circulation pump that usually, during the period of seasonal use, is kept on for about 12/14 hours a day, while the other consumption element is instead constituted by lighting. It must be said that with the latest generation LED headlights, consumption to illuminate the pool has become almost ridiculous.
SEASONAL ENERGETIC COST OF THE POOL = € 600/700 (0,20kw)
NB: if the swimming pool is equipped with a whirlpool, counter-current swimming or heating system, naturally the costs increase.
3 - PRODUCTS FOR WATER STERILIZATION
The sterilization of pool water is an essential operation to keep the pool clean and free of bacteria and algae formations. Naturally this has a consumption, which varies depending on the type of sterilization chosen but which is anyway mandatory for each type of pool: skimmer, overflow, underground, above ground, etc.
Usually most of the pools are built using chlorine sterilization, which is the best known type of disinfection.
In recent years, however, other types of sterilization of pool water have also taken hold, in which more natural and healthy elements such as salt and magnesium are used.
SEASONAL COSTS OF POOL CHEMICAL PRODUCTS = € 900/1.200
"IN PRACTICE, HOW MUCH DOES THE POOL MAINTENANCE COST EVERY YEAR? "
In practice, the annual seasonal cost of a swimming pool 10x5 varies between 1.800/2.200 euro and varies depending on the size and the particularities adopted within it, as explained above.
POOL OPENING AND CLOSING OPERATIONS
The pool opening and closing operation is done at the beginning and end of the season (so towards the end of May-beginning of June and end of September-mid-October). During this operation, the cloth covering the pool is removed or removed, the system empties, the unit is cleaned, the systems, the control unit, etc. are tested.
These are simple operations and many customers prefer to take care of themselves while others choose instead to rely on a specialized company. In this second case, the opening and closing operations have an additional cost.
POOL OPENING AND CLOSING COST = € 400/450
"WHAT IF I WANT TO LEAVE THE SWIMMING POOL OPEN ALL YEAR?"
In fact, not a few people prefer to leave the pool open even during the winter, especially for aesthetic reasons. In this case, the closing and opening of the swimming pool are not necessary.
It is obvious, however, that the pool must continue to operate even in the winter months, so there are some additional costs for electricity and chemicals. However these are very minor compared to the summer period.
ADDITIONAL COST FOR OPEN POOL DURING WINTER: € 800/1.000
"WHAT CAN I DO TO SAVE ON THE ANNUAL COSTS OF THE POOL?"
Here is an intelligent question. The most important and vital actions that anyone with a swimming pool can do to save considerably on the consumption of water, electricity and chemicals, are the following:
- Make a regular and precise maintenance of the pool, entrusting you to experienced and qualified people, but also updated on recent technological and structural innovations;
- Change the old halogen headlights with the latest generation LED lights. As mentioned above: a saving of almost 80% can be achieved;
- Purchase and use the summer cover, which prevents the normal evaporation of the water while maintaining the tub hot and more 'bathing'. The cover keeps the swimming pool cleaner by reducing the need to activate the filters washing;
- Change the filter material from sand to other materials, which allow counter-washes to be performed every 3/4 weeks rather than every week;
- Provide photovoltaic or solar thermal panels to eliminate or significantly reduce energy consumption.
FORECAST COSTS TABLE:
a furhter tool by Professione Piscina
Precise and accurate answers can only be provided by specialists in the field. As far as we are concerned, the great experience accumulated in this field has allowed us to develop a precise SWIMMING POOL FORECAST TABLE in which every single item is taken into account to calculate the exact consumption of each type of pool of any size. This is done by us for free during the exclusive Professional Pool Consulting®.
If you have any questions regarding the consumption of your pool or a swimming pool you wish to make, you can make an appointment by filling out the contact form on our website.
And as always, may the force be with you!
