Ways to Make your Pool More Energy Effecient

Energy efficiency has become a major factor when making decisions on how you’d like your pool to operate. Here are some ways you can make your pool more energy efficient and in turn, ways you may be able to save some money!

1. Pick the right finish. Darker colored pool finishes absorb the sun’s rays, and that energy helps heat your pool. While not everyone wants a dark finish, if you’re on the fence and want to keep heating costs down, it’s something to consider.

2. Create a natural windbreak. For many people, pool landscaping is often an afterthought. However, planting a hedge, building a berm, or creating some other form of windbreak can help lower heat loss, which in turn lowers energy costs. It also helps decrease the evaporation of water that you’ve already heated, here again providing savings.

3. Install a variable-speed pool pump. A variable speed pump can deliver significant savings compared to single-speed pumps, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Using a variable-speed pump also helps cut greenhouse gas emissions.

4. Use advanced heating technology. There are a number of new technologies available for heating pool water more energy efficiently. Consult your local Colley’s expert to see what may work for you.

5. Install an automatic pool cover. Not only does an automatic pool cover help to make your pool safe, it helps prevent heat loss and evaporation.

6. Use larger pool filters. Larger filters have a bigger surface area through which water can flow, which can mean your pump doesn’t have to work as hard to move the same volume of water. Not only does this lower the pump’s energy consumption, it can extend the life of the pump which can save you money!

7. Install LED lighting. LED lights can save 80% or more over incandescent lights, and last three times as long.

8. Automate your pool operations. There is now technology that can automatically run your pool systems when energy costs are lower to help you optimize your energy use.

How to Properly Maintain Your Loop Loc Cover

If you have a Loop Loc cover, you know it is the strongest pool cover on the market. While it is virtually maintenance free, there are steps you should take to promote the longevity of your Loop Loc cover.

1. Proper Storage: When storing your Loop Loc, fold it up and roll it into the provided storage bag. Hang the bag on a hook or nail (or any way to keep it off the floor). By keeping your Loop Loc off the floor, you are allowing the cover to drain through the bag as well as protect it from rodents. Rodents notoriously like to make a home out of pool covers; chewing holes and causing rips.

2. Handle with Care: Loop Loc covers can be bulky and heavy, but it is important to handle them with care. It is best to avoid dragging the over across the deck or placing it near any sharp edges which will damage the cover.

3. Snow Support: During Western New York’s inevitably cold and snowy winters, your water level should be 15”-18” below the top of the pool. The water (and eventually ice) will act as a support for your Loop Loc when the snow accumulates. This support will help relieve the stress the weight of the snow is placing on the cover.

4. Stay Off: While Loop Loc is touted to be able to hold an elephant, it is best to keep off of your cover to maintain its strength. Not only can being on the cover put stress on it, but pets and other animals can put rips in the cover with their paws/claws.

There are just a few helpful tips that will allow you to get the most out of your Loop Loc cover! Visit the Loop Loc page on our website for more information: www.colleys.com/loop-loc-covers

Why a Dolphin Robotic Vacuum May be a Good Idea

If you have a pool and clean it regularly, you’re probably well aware what a pain it can be to install and use traditional pool cleaning devices. Whether you have a suction cleaner that connects to your skimmer or a pressure cleaner that connects to the pump, you spend your time installing fittings, cutting and assembling hoses and untangling hoses and cords. It can be a chore!

Not only can traditional pool cleaning devices waste your time, but they can also waste your money. A typical suction cleaner can cost you up to $400 of electricity in a year. Pressure cleaners use even more energy, for a whopping yearly cost of about $650.

A Dolphin robotic pool vacuum from Maytronics is an independent cleaning machine that is “plug-and-play”. It doesn’t rely on the pool’s filter or pump, and it doesn’t need any additional pumps or hoses to get your pool clean. Just drop it into the water and turn it on.

Not only are these robotic pool vacuums easier to use—they are also up to 90% more efficient than the suction and pressure cleaners on the market today. A robotic cleaner uses far less energy for a total yearly electricity cost of only about $20.

The latest generation of Maytronics pool vacuums are cloud-connected, WIFI enabled, remote controlled and easily programmable, giving you the ability to clean your pool from anywhere, anytime.

So, stop in to your local Colley’s location and find out why a Dolphin from Maytronics is the right fit for your pool!