When deciding what type of heat pump to buy, obviously in addition to cost, there are a few key things to think about such as getting the right size of heat pump for your pool, its heating efficiency, its quality of manufacture (as that will determine how long it will last), and whether there is a network set up across the UK to deal with any problems or warranty issues that might crop up now or in the future. However, it is important to recognise that size and quality will directly affect the cost of the unit, and paying slightly more now for the right heat pump could make a big difference in getting your pool properly heated, and saving you a fortune over the years.
Understanding The Problems Facing Prospective Heat Pump Buyers
Choosing a heat pump for your pool can be a tricky area for the uninitiated, as there are dozens of heat pumps on the market with all sorts of prices, all claiming to be able to do the same job.
However, not all heat pumps are the same, and COP (Coefficient Of Performance, or in layman’s terms their efficiency) can in reality be dramatically different when it comes reality!
Then there is the issue of how long the unit will last. If you have a problem after buying a heat pump, many of the cheaper machines can’t be repaired because the gas can’t they use is now one of the outlawed CFC gasses or are simply uneconomic to repair. Also, because so many heat pumps are Chinese in origin, despite being sold with a ‘limited liability warranty’, getting it repaired under the terms of the limited liability warranty is often either hugely expensive or impossible! So the cheap heat pump bought today ends up as an expensive and ugly garden ornament tomorrow!
Heat Pump Efficiency
There are many inferior heat pumps on the market that make great claims for their ability, such as being able to provide heat even when the air is freezing, being able to heat the pool all year round etc . Unless they are a premium priced specialist unit, don’t be taken in by these claims, because, as we discuss on the page “At what temperature will a heat pump work?”,whilst there is an element of truth in the statement that they can produce heat all year round, almost without exception, almost all the heat is used to defrost the machine to keep it running, with any marginal extra heat produced not being sufficient to warm the pool water, as there is not enough to overcome the heat losses from the pool. So you end up paying to run the heatpump without getting any benefit. There no future in that!
Even in cooler summer weather, some units struggle either through being undersized for the size of pool or just cheaply made and inefficient despite their claims. Unfortunately, just buying on the specification provided by the manufacturer doesn’t guarantee that you are buying a suitable or quality heat pump. When did you read a label on a products box that said ‘expensive to run, not very efficient and won’t last long’ Yeah right! But so many fit that category! Does that mean it’s foolhardy to consider investing in a heat pump as you just don’t know whether you’ve got a quality efficient unit or a Chinese unit that is destined to disappoint and fail after a few years of service!
The Guaranteed Solution
As with most things in life, you tend to get what you pay for. The old adage is ‘buy cheap and you buy often’. Heat pumps are a prime example. I recommend Calorex units as they have a history of quality, reliability and longevity. We have been installing heat pumps from Calorex on almost every pool we have built over the years, and we have hundreds of happy customer’s! Buying from a reputable dealer like Azure Pools who have been installing these units for years means you are using our clients experience as a yardstick to measure the units by. Many of our clients have Calorex units that are 25 years old that are still working, heating their pools the way they expected. You can’t have better than that.
We just won’t sell cheap unreliable products because here at Azure Pools, we try to do the best for our clients, and every product we sell, whether a heat pump, spa, sauna steamroom or pool is backed by the manufacturer or their UK distributor. That assures you that if the worst happens and it goes wrong, it will be repaired with a few days and doesn’t become the ‘white elephant’ that was cheap to buy originally, but became expensive when it had to be replaced!
We only sell Calorex heat pumps, the leading name in swimming pool heat pumps. They are made in the UK and are maintained by Calorex or their network of approved specialist repairers. This gives you the assurance that should a fault develop in the years to come, knowledgeable Calorex trained engineers will be with you within a day or so to sort it out for you with original parts. In fact, these units are so good, Calorex themselves have the confidence to offer each Calorex Propac heat pump with a full no quibble 3 year all parts and all labour manufacturers’ warranty that covers your new heat pump for any fault that might occur, and the repairs are done in your garden- It couldn’t be better could it! One phone call to us is all that’s required to get you up and running again.
We can determine what size heat pump you need, whether a standard or extended season heat pump is right for you, what electrical requirements you need for any given model, and if you are not too far, from us, we can even arrange to do the installation for you.
