How Does a Pool Heat Pump Work - Direct Pool Supplies

How Does a Heat Pump Work

Key Takeaways

Heat pump pool heaters work by extracting heat from the outside air and transferring it to the pool water — they move heat rather than generate it, making them significantly more energy-efficient than gas heaters.
The process works through a refrigerant cycle: outside air heats a liquid refrigerant, which becomes a gas, is compressed to increase its heat, and then transfers that heat to the pool water through the condenser before starting the cycle again.
Heat pump heaters work efficiently as long as outside temperatures remain above 5–10°C — they consume more energy as the outside air gets cooler, though this is rarely an issue during typical outdoor swimming seasons.
Higher efficiency heat pump units use scroll compressors rather than the reciprocal compressors found in standard models, delivering better performance and lower running costs.
The heat pump works in conjunction with your existing pool pump and filter — pool water is circulated through the heater as part of the normal filtration cycle, requiring no separate plumbing system.

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What is a pool heat pump?

Heat pumps use electricity to capture heat and move it from one place to another. As the pool pump circulates the swimming pool's water, the water drawn from the pool passes through a filter and the heat pump heater.

The heat pump heater has a fan that draws in the outside air and directs it over the evaporator coil. Liquid refrigerant within the evaporator coil absorbs the heat from the outside air and becomes a gas. The warm gas in the coil then passes through the compressor. The compressor increases the heat, creating a very hot gas that then passes through the condenser. The condenser transfers the heat from the hot gas to the cooler pool water circulating through the heater. The heated water then returns to the pool. The hot gas, as it flows through the condenser coil, returns to liquid form and back to the evaporator, where the whole process begins again.

Higher efficiency heat pump pool heaters usually use scroll compressors versus the reciprocal compressors of standard units.

Heat pump pool heaters work efficiently as long as the outside temperature remains above the 5ºC–10ºC range.

The cooler the outside air they draw in, the more energy they use. However, since most people use outdoor swimming pools during warm and mild weather, this usually isn't an issue.