Today "GOING GREEN" affects practically every facet of life; from your home, to your car, to the clothing you wear. Your pool is no different. The following suggestions will help the environment while saving you some green!
Equipment Upgrades
The first thing you can do is to use a solar cover which will help your pool retain its heat, reducing the need to run your pool heater. Solar covers also help prevent the breakdown of pool chlorine by UV exposure, resulting in less chlorine consumption without compromising pool safety. Finally, solar covers help prevent evaporation of pool water which can throw off your chemical balance and require constant re-filling. All those extra chemical treatments will cost you plenty of money, while constantly adding water will increase your water bill. Best of all, solar covers are very affordable and easy to install and remove!
Instead of a traditional gas heater you can equip your pool with a solar heater, which produces no pollution whatsoever. Solar heaters use a large heat sink panel to absorb the heat from the sun's rays and transfer it directly to pool water traveling through their piping. They can be mounted on racks beside your pool or, for more direct sunlight and to save space, you can mount the solar heating panels on your roof.
If your pool is simply too large for solar heaters to work effectively or if you want to use your pool during the colder months, you can always use a Low NOx heater. Low NOx heaters provide the same level of performance as other gas heaters but use cutting-edge technology to produce dramatically less pollutants. These Low NOx heaters are available in either propane or natural gas from top manufacturers, making them readily available.
Another equipment upgrade that will quickly pay dividends is a pool pump upgrade. Switching your old single-speed pump to a newer 2-speed or variable speed pump will consume far less electricity during idle conditions, yet still provide the appropriate water flow when your pool needs it. Using one of these pumps will reduce your carbon footprint as well as your utility bill, making it one of the most effective ways to give Mother Nature a helping hand. Please Note: Multi-speed pumps are now required by law in California.
For those of you who are considering the installation of a new pool, larger diameter plumbing (2" or larger) is a great idea. Larger plumbing has much less resistance compared to traditional 1 1/2" plumbing and gives you a wide selection of high-efficiency pumps. Because it requires you to dig up your existing pool plumbing, this is only a recommended option for pools under construction.
Lastly, you can replace your pool lights with LEDs. LEDs use a fraction of the electricity in comparison to bulb-type lights, yet provide superior illumination. For lights around your pool, you can replace incandescent light bulbs with florescent alternatives. Always keep in mind that every little bit helps!
Alternative Chemicals
The first step is to start using natural chemicals to keep your pool clean and healthy. These chemicals use natural chemical compounds to perform the same as traditional chemical formulas, yet they are formulated to do virtually no harm to the environment. Best of all, these natural chemicals can be applied to your pool just as easily as other chemicals, and compromise nothing in terms of overall performance. There are many different varieties of naturally-formulated chemicals, from algaecides to clarifiers.
You can also use alternative sanitizers instead of chlorine, giving you and your swimmers comfortable water while eliminating the hassle of constantly feeding chlorine into the water system. Alternatives include bromine, ozone, biguanide, proprietary systems from companies, and even ultraviolet (UV) sanitizers that meet or exceed the sanitation performance of chlorine without the complicated applications.
UV Sanitizers are the newest and most advanced form of sanitation available for pools today. UV sanitizers kill off any organic threats simply by routing pool water through a container filled with high intensity ultraviolet light. This technology has been used for years to quickly purify drinking water for hikers and campers, avoiding the need to use foul-tasting water purification tablets. Once connected to your pool plumbing, UV sanitizers require zero routine maintenance and take up no more room around your pool than your normal pool filter.
Bromine was the first real alternative sanitizer to chlorine, offering very similar performance while significantly reducing the eye and skin irritation that swimmers commonly experience with chlorine. It is the #1 sanitizer of spas around the world because it costs less and is readily available.
Ozone is another exotic form of sanitation that generates ozone, a powerful natural sanitizer that kills off any bacteria, mold, or other organic threats in your pool. Ozone sanitizers use ultraviolet light to transform ordinary oxygen into ozone and never need routine maintenance to work. They do not produce swimmer irritation, nasty residues, or other byproducts expect for one: a refreshing scent not unlike the smell after a summer rainstorm.
To adequately explain ozone, we will have to take you back to your high school chemistry days; we apologize in advance. Ozone is a molecule of 3 oxygen atoms joined together, while the form of oxygen we breathe is made up of 2 oxygen atoms. To create ozone, these sanitizers use ultraviolet light to break the oxygen molecules (O2) apart, where the single oxygen atoms bond to other O2 molecules to form ozone molecules (O3). These bonds are called covalent bonds and the reason why something as destructive as ultraviolet light is needed to break them apart. Ozone usually occurs in the upper atmosphere layer called the stratosphere, commonly referred to as the Ozone Layer (although ozone is present near the Earth's surface). This ozone is the reason we have smog in areas such as Los Angeles; it reacts with all the pollution in the air trapped by the surrounding San Gabriel Mountains. Still awake? Good. Now lets move on to the next type of alternative sanitizer.
Biguanide is the last type of commonly used alternative sanitizer used in the pool and spa industry. Its roots can be traced back to the medical community which uses a biguanide-based disinfectant for surgeons to scrub their hands with before surgery. It is extremely good at killing off bacteria and produces no unpleasant odors or swimmer irritation. However, it requires regular treatment with hydrogen peroxide to kill off harmful organics and can become infected with pink slime or mold after only a few short years. This is because some microorganisms become resistant to biguanide, much like some forms of bacteria become antibiotic-resistant in hospitals, and can only be properly sanitized by a large dose of chlorine shock.