HEAT YOUR POOL TO HEAT YOUR HOME

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We were quite excited — and just a little nervous — when Mike turned on the heat pump. Bill held a thermometer in the pipe that began shooting the warmed water into the pool, and the reading was 97°F. What's more, the rate at which that water was being pumped (recirculated) measured nine gallons per minute. The system was a success . . . in fact, it exceeded even Mike's calculations!

FROM POOL TO HOUSE

With the first part of the plan functioning perfectly, it was time to arrange for transferring heat from the pool to the house. To do so, the men constructed ducts (heavily insulated to insure efficiency and quiet) and strapped them to the basement ceiling, using turning vanes at any 90° corner.

Then Bill cut a large outlet in our entry hall, upstairs, and covered it with an attractive grille. A return duct in the wall of the stairwell leading to the basement allows circulation of air. We can, anytime we choose to do so, install more ducts to move warmth into the bedrooms and baths. We can even add an attachment to the heat pump that will preheat our domestic hot water supply, and — budget allowing — we've decided to try that next. (If you live in a sunnier climate than we do, you may be interested in knowing that Mike is sure a system like ours could be used quite effectively with a solariheated swimming pool.)

It would be advantageous to have a larger pool . . . one with the volume to store an adequate amount of heat for our house during long periods of inclement weather. As it is, we did occasionally have to fall back on our electric heat last winter . . . but we're not complaining! After all, this heating system decreased our utility bills — compared with the previous year — by half during the rainy winter months . . . and by two-thirds during the summer!

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