Old Man Winter has inflicted the Dallas-Fort Worth area with much more of the freezing gunk than normal this year… and summer has never felt further away! But for those clever pool owners who have pool heaters, swim season, at least, isn’t far away at all. With a heater for your inground pool, you can join their ranks and start enjoying your pool again without waiting for the weather to heat up enough to make your water comfortably warm. Would you like to spend this spring swimming? Here are some great inground pool heater options.

Natural Gas & Propane Pool Heaters

Gas pool heaters are the fastest at heating your pool water. This is perfect if you don’t want to have to pay to keep the pool warm constantly, and only want to switch it on for the occasional warm weekend day. Some units have regulators that switch the unit on and off automatically to keep the pool water within an acceptable range. It is literally possible to extend your swim season across every calendar month with a gas heater for your pool.

Gas heaters come in both natural gas and propane options. While Hank would insist that propane is the only way to go, it primarily depends on which is most readily available in your neighborhood. Both work extremely well, are efficient, and reasonably affordable to operate. A-Quality Pool Service carries gas pool heaters from top brands like Pentair and Zodiac.

Solar Pool Heaters

If Texas has anything, sunlight is it. Solar heaters don’t heat nearly as quickly as gas or heat pumps, but the operating costs are significantly lower, while the units purchase prices are similar. The downside to solar pool heaters is that when the weather is cooler, it’s more likely to also be cloudy, therefore less heat is generated by the unit. But solar heaters are so friendly to the environment that it’s often an excellent tradeoff.

In Texas, it’s possible to get year-round swimming from a solar pool heater, so long as it’s properly placed. Solar heaters do require adequate sun exposure, so you’ll need an area of the yard that gets sun all or most of each day to take advantage of a solar pool heating system. A-Quality can help you determine if a solar heater is right for your inground pool. 

Heat Pumps for Inground Pools

The two primary advantages of heat pumps for heating inground pools are high energy efficiency and low operating costs. But the cost savings does mean a tradeoff, as gas heaters are a lot quicker. With a heat pump, you won’t be doing any last-minute swimming. You’ll need to give the pool time to heat up if it’s been chilly outside.

Also, as with heat pumps used for heating our homes, it’s only effective down to about 41-degrees Fahrenheit. While it’s not often that cold here, it does happen occasionally, as winter 2021 has already proven, so just be aware that your heat pump won’t make your water swimmable if we do have an extended cold spell.

Whether you choose natural gas, propane, solar, or a heat pump for your pool heater, A-Quality carries the industry’s best brands, including Pentair and Zodiac. To read about the other must-have equipment no pool owner should be without, read this.

We’d love to discuss your backyard, your lifestyle, and your budget, and fit you with the perfect pool heater for your unique situation. Give us a call today at 817-281-0781!