The water coming out is warmish but I’m not sure how much we will be able to enjoy swimming today before we leave in the morning.\u00a0 We did get to swim a little Monday but the pool temp has been less than swimmable. I know temps like this are not common down here but I thought perhaps the pool heat would still be able to make it swimmable for the cost.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There are a lot of factors involved in heating a pool and having it reach temperature, which in our case is a desired 89\u00ba F.<\/p>\n
The average heat pump pool heater in Orlando, running successfully and efficiently, can heat the pool water 15\u00ba F above the ambient air temperature. So with some simple math, if the temperature is a constant 74\u00ba F, then most pool heaters can get the water to 89\u00ba. However, most pool heaters in Orlando are not set to 89\u00baF, they\u2019re set to 82\u00ba F because that is what Disney sets their resort pools to, and they\u2019re kind of a big, dominating, set-the-standard kind of presence in the area. But for the sake of this discussion we\u2019ll stick with our desired 89\u00baF.<\/p>\n
If the temperature outside is 74\u00ba F, this is barely warm enough where most people feel comfortable going swimming. If it\u2019s not a nice, warm sunny day, most people have little desire to get in the pool. But a day where the high temperature reaches 74\u00ba is not at that temperature all day. That is the peak, reached for only about an hour in later afternoon, and then the temperature starts dropping through the evening, to an overnight low, whatever that is, and then starts rising again in the morning. For example, when you get up on that day with a 74\u00ba high, it may only be 58\u00ba in the morning. Care for a morning swim? The highest water temperature you can expect at 58\u00ba air temperature would be 73\u00ba. That\u2019s a cold pool!<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s only if the temperature never got colder than 58\u00ba over night. If it dropped to 40\u00ba at the coldest point overnight, there is going to be some lag. A standard pool heater can reach 15\u00ba above ambient air temperature, but only given enough time at at least whatever temperature we\u2019re talking about. How long will the water take to warm up? That\u2019s affected by a number of factors.<\/p>\n
They are; size of the pool, thermal output capabilities of the heater (measured in BTUs \u2013 British Thermal Units for those interested), and the air temperature itself.<\/p>\n
Why does the air temperature matter (aside from our starting point to heat from)? Because the efficiency of Pool Heat Pumps drops dramatically as the temperature goes down.<\/strong><\/p>\n “When it\u2019s 70\u00b0F outside (or above), your heat pump runs at peak efficiency. However, when temperatures drop to 40\u00b0F, the same heat pump might work at only 60% efficiency. This means heating times increase significantly in cold weather, sometimes doubling or tripling the expected time.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This demonstrates the compounding effect of cold temperatures on heating a pool.<\/p>\n “The Simple Truth About Pool Heat Pump TimingMost pool owners want to know exactly how long their heat pump will take to warm their pool. The answer isn\u2019t complicated, but it depends on a few key things. For most typical pools, heating by 10 degrees takes between 8 to 48 hours.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n All information in quotes is taken from\u00a0https:\/\/znfu.com\/how-long-to-heat-a-pool-10-degrees\/<\/a><\/p>\n The pool heaters at our three villas are all over-sized.<\/strong> That\u2019s on purpose. What that means is that they can heat the water to 30\u00ba F above the outside air temperature,<\/strong> twice the usual 15\u00ba. That is frankly, highly unusual and great performance. It means that they can heat the water to a higher temperature, and in less time, than typical. We do this for our guests because we want them to have a great experience.<\/p>\n Using the information above, let\u2019s assume that we get the best performance out of our pool heaters (we do), and it takes 8 hours to raise the water temperature 10\u00ba F. \u00a0If it\u2019s a cool evening… let’s say 39\u00ba, and the water is at that temperature, so for simplicity\u2019s sake we have to raise the temperature 50\u00ba (to reach our 89\u00ba goal), we can expect that it will take 40 hours at peak efficiency<\/strong> to reach our goal. But if the efficiency of the heat pump starts at only 60% because it\u2019s so cool, then that 40 hours increases to 67 hours. Of course, there will be temperature fluctuation as it (hopefully) warms up during the day, but given the long length of time it can take to heat up the pool, the temperature starts dropping again the next evening long before the pool water will have reached the 89\u00ba goal. There are only 24 hours in a day, so 67 hours (even if we could run the heater 24 hours a day) is a long way off.<\/p>\n What this tells us is that heating up the pool, especially if it\u2019s cold, can take days.<\/strong> Part of the issue is that we don\u2019t have to just heat the pool, but we have to heat the pipes, concrete and soil around the pool, or they\u2019ll suck the heat right of it, almost as fast as we can put it in.<\/strong><\/p>\n Why not run the pool heater all night long if it takes so long to heat up the water? Running a pool heater is expensive in Florida. In November 2025 our villa power bill was $250 for the month. In December, with the same outdoor temperatures, but with the pool heater on, the bill hit $825 for the month. When temperatures drop overnight, and the efficiency of the pool heat pump goes with it, the result is that running the heater for a couple of hours in warmer temperatures in the morning accomplishes more than running the heater all night in cooler temperatures, and costs far less. It only makes sense to not burn out the pump and heater, consuming their useful running life trying to accomplish something that can’t happen anyway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But sometimes\u2026 if there is a cold snap, like the one we are experiencing this week, where we will actually be running the pool pumps (not the heater) all night long just to keep the water circulating so that nothing freezes up, or pipes crack and motors suffer major damage, it becomes impossible to keep the pool warm enough to enjoy swimming. And almost always this is never an issue for guests<\/strong>, because if it\u2019s too cold to heat the pool, no one wants to go swimming because they\u2019ll freeze themselves just stepping outside.<\/strong><\/p>\n Occasionally, a guest is disappointed that the pool isn\u2019t warm enough for swimming, even if they paid for pool heating. I understand, but the weather is causing the disappointment, not us, and as explained above, there is nothing we can do about it.<\/p>\n So is it fair to charge a guest for pool heating if they can\u2019t use the pool?<\/strong> Unfortunately, yes it is, because our expenses for heating the pool are much greater when it\u2019s cold than they are if it\u2019s warm. All we can do is promise to heat the pool roughly 30\u00ba above the outside air temperature, and we do, but we can\u2019t promise what that will result in, or for how long. That\u2019s up to mother nature.<\/strong> So it\u2019s doubly frustrating; the guest is disappointed at not wanting or being able to swim, and we\u2019ve spent more money and incurred more expense providing them something that they likely won\u2019t want to use.<\/p>\n To begin with, when our properties get booked (sometimes over a year in advance) no one can predict when a winter cold snap will occur. They happen usually once every two or three years, but when is anyone\u2019s guess. But given that it takes 2-3 days to heat the pool from cold, even when things are normal, and can take much longer when things are unusually cold, we spend money getting the pool ready sometimes in situations where the weather turns dramatically a few days after the guest arrives, and they missed their window to use it. We can\u2019t control that, but still incurred all the expense.<\/p>\n But in addition, what if the opposite happens? Even if we are heating the pool 30\u00ba above the outside air, but that\u2019s only water at 72\u00ba and so too cold to swim, if the weather turns and it gets warmer (which always happens after a cold snap), then with the water already that much warmer we can get it up to swim temperature in just a day or two, as opposed to it taking three-five days, by which point a guest staying for only six or seven days may be gone. So having the water as \u2018ready to go as it can be\u2019 is worthwhile<\/strong>, because when it does turn warm, then the guest can swim immediately<\/strong>, rather than having to wait two or three days. Some guests may only get to enjoy the pool two or three days out of their stay, because they are doing other activities, and we know there is lots to do in the Orlando area!<\/p>\n So yes, pool heating is always better, and always effective, but can it guarantee the water will be ‘swimmable?’ Unfortunately not, because mother nature gives no guarantees<\/strong>. And she can be a cool mistress when she inflicts bad weather on our vacation plans!<\/p>\n This is also one of the reasons why we make pool heating optional.<\/strong> A guest can cancel or request it, any time up to three days before their arrival. After that, we\u2019re all… (both the guest and us as hosts) committed in.<\/p>\n On rare occasions, I get a guest requesting something like \u2018Can I just have the pool heated on Thursday afternoon?\u2019<\/em> Questions like this reflect how people often don\u2019t understand the issues and complexity involved in pool heating and management. All we can do is offer the services and hope for the best. And again, if a cold snap does happen, cool air temperatures most often keep guests away from the pool, so they don\u2019t feel they\u2019ve missed out on anything.<\/p>\n I hope this information is of use to you and helps you feel better about the circumstances. It\u2019s just bad luck, but we tried, and it actually cost us more out of pocket to heat the pool this week than we charged you for it, so in a sense, everyone has lost all around. Most importantly for me, is any disappointment you may feel. We want all of our guests to experience nothing but the best while they are with us, in all ways.<\/p>\n Also see About Optional Pool Heating<\/a> and Pool Heating has Limitations<\/a> for additional information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even if a guest pays for optional pool heating, there is no guarantee that the water will be at the temperature we desire. This is not because the service paid for was not delivered, or a pool heating system isn’t working properly. In Orlando, just like anywhere else, whether or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","two_page_speed":[]},"categories":[155,153],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Breezy](\"https:\/\/breezyoakvillas.com\/breezy_oak_villas\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-6.png\")
<\/p>\nEven a great pool heater can\u2019t beat mother nature.<\/h2>\n
When a guest books pool heating with us, we actually start the heater 2-3 days before the guest arrives, to have it be at temperature when they get to the villa.<\/h3>\n
![\"Snow](\"https:\/\/breezyoakvillas.com\/breezy_oak_villas\/wp-content\/uploads\/snow-in-florida.jpg\")
<\/div>\nDoes pool heating still make sense at these times? Actually, in my view, yes it does, and here\u2019s why\u2026<\/h3>\n