5 Best Pool Heater Reviews & Buying Guide in 2021

Do you know how to buy the best pool heaters which are ideal for your swimming pool? This article will guide you on all you need to know about pool heaters. Your pool is vital and should provide comfort to everyone who uses it. The major advantage of heaters is that they enable you to use your pool during the cold weather or even at night.

How Many Pool Heater Types Are There?

1. Electric Heaters

These heaters generate heat by use of electric current. The resistor produces heat when a current is applied to the resistor which is usually located inside the unit. Electric heaters require large amounts of electricity and because of this, they are primarily used to heat therapy pools and small portable spas.

Advantages of Electric Pool Heaters

Disadvantages

These heaters use solar panels to transfer heat to your swimming pool. Solar panels are exposed to the sun where they collect heat. The swimming pool pump drives water through the circulation system and the solar panels.

Water is heated when it passes through. Most pool owners use supplementary heaters on cloudy days or at night since solar heaters rely on the sun.

Advantages of solar heaters

Disadvantages

These usually use electricity to transfer heat to your swimming pool. Air heat pumps transfer heat from the air. Geothermal or water pump transfers heat from the water.

Advantages of Heat Pumps

Disadvantages

Gas heaters burn either propane or natural gas to generate heat. Gas is ignited inside a combustion chamber which contains several copper coils. Water is heated as it passes through the coils when the gas is burning.

These heaters are the most common though their popularity is decreasing due to their high prices and the emergence of efficient heat pumps.

Advantages of Gas Heaters

Disadvantages

Heat pumps functions differently since they use electricity to capture heat and transfer it from one place to another and do not produce heat like a gas or propane heater.

Gas and propane heaters usually use more energy than pool heat pumps because they are required to generate heat rather than transfer it. If you live in an area with a cold climate, a heat pump would need more energy because it needs to draw in heat from the outside air.

Heat pumps may be recommended to those who use their pool in warm weather and do not live in an area with a cold climate.

Factors to Consider When Selecting a Pool Heater

1. Pool Size

Bigger pool sizes are always better. Pool heaters are rated depending on the number of BTUs (British Thermal Unit) they can put out. A single BTU  can increase the temperature of one pound of your pool by one degree Fahrenheit.  This means that the more BTUs the heater can generate the more water it can heat.

In choosing the best pool heaters, you should try to determine the number of BTUs it will require to heat your pool. Once your water reaches the ideal temperature, it will not need much power to keep it that way. However, it is good to cover it with a solar blanket which prevents the heat from escaping from the water.

After you have known the surface area of your pool, you will need to determine the best water temperature to be able to determine the best pool heaters that suit your needs. You can check the heating guide to know how many BTUs are required to increase your pool water temperature. After you have determined this, you can now start shopping for a heater.

Every heater has an efficiency rating which represents the percentage of energy transferred to the pool by the heater for each BTU. All pool heaters should have a minimum efficiency rating of 78%.

400,000 BTU Pool Heater from Hayward is a good example why the company has become a leader in the pool heating Industry.  This product has an energy saving hydraulic performance.

It can heat an 800- gallon pool increases by 30 degrees in less than an hour and ensuring its warm with reduced pump circulation. This allows you to enjoy swimming more without noticing a drastic increase in your energy bill.

2. Zodiac Jandy LXi LXI400N 400,000 BTU Pool Heater

This product has a fan assisted combustion, corrosion-resistant polymer headers, the state of the art controls and electric spark ignition. The product is easy to use, and it’s one of the most advanced in the market.

This product provides similar capabilities and sophisticated features as gas pool heaters which are twice bigger in size. It is very efficient and very cheap as compared to the traditional propane and natural gas heaters.

Hayward CSPAXI11 11 is the ideal electric heater for anyone who needs an efficient unit to heat their pool or maintain small above ground pools.

This product is built upon Zodiac’s heralded tradition of excellence and quality. This pool heater is advanced technologically, and it’s very easy to use. It is an energy efficient pool heating solution which is built in consideration of your budget and comfort.

Hayward H100ID1 is usually designed for small above ground pools and spas which do not require large pool heaters. This device operates at 81 percent thermal efficiency.

It can heat up a 450 square foot pool to 85 degrees in just a few hours. This device has an induced air technology and an affordable price tag. It is one of the best gas pool heaters for spas and above ground pools available in the market.

Hayward H400FDN is the best pool heater available on the market today. Apart from being environmentally friendly and energy efficient, this heater provides superior thermal efficiency and hydraulic performance as compared to other pool heaters.

The heater is very easy to use as it contains LED displays and control panel which delivers a dependable and fast performance with a simple touch of a button.

It is also easy to install as compared to most of the other heaters. If you would like to invest in a good machine, then this might be the best for you.

We are hopeful that this article about the best pool heaters was able to help you in one way or another.

What would you like to add? I will appreciate your views or questions in the comments below. Feel free to share it if you like.

If you want to add more light and colors to your pool, check our Best Pool Lights Reviews and get the best one for your pool.