Need advice please - pool pump inverter solution

[RobertB]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and would love to ask some advice please. I've seen a few similar posts, but not exactly to the answer I need. Running my 1.1kW pool pump is very expensive, so I am trying to find ways to run it with reduced reliance on Eskom. I investigated DC motors and PV options, but they all add up to R20k+ outlay, which has a long ROI. I am trying to keep the solution closer to R10k, if possible.

Questions:

(1) Would my 1.1kW pool pump work with just an inverter and battery ? I've seen a few inverters that look like they could work with PV options, but not yet sure if just running it on batteries makes sense? Example: https://www.victronenergy.com/inverters-chargers/easyplus-12v-1600va

(2) Then I was thinking of just charging the batteries from the grid - perhaps with an intelligent charger that won't mess them up? Not sure if this is possible from the victron above? I may need to have a timer switch to add AC mains after hours for battery charging at night, then let it run on battery inverter by day? Advice welcome please. :-)

(3) Assuming above is even viable, which type of batteries would I need ? I've seen a few discussions on lead acid deep cycle - are those the best ones? Which spec for this scenario? I would like to run the pool for 8-10 hours a day if possible.

All advice welcomed.

Thanks in advance :-)

Robert

 

 

[DeepBass9]

I would rather look at running all my loads with a grid tie inverter and panels, that way your saving is on your entire electricity bill, and you dont have the system dedicated to solving one problem. You can then add further panels at your leisure to bring  your entire bill down further.

[Gerrie]

17 hours ago, RobertB said:

not yet sure if just running it on batteries makes sense?

Batteries will be very expensive to run a 1.1KW load on batteries. That will be more than R20K.

17 hours ago, RobertB said:

I was thinking of just charging the batteries from the grid

Charging from grid won’t save money as you should rather consider charging from PV or  perhaps running the pump directly from PV during the day, but that will still have a large layout cost.

[Johandup]

41 minutes ago, Gerrie said:

Charging from grid won’t save money

I have an inverter with 4 pylontech batteries which I use as a backup system.

I charge them from the mains as I don’t have solar panels installed.

With recent load shedding in my town  I did a calculation and the charging costs for power worked out to a bit less than R1 per hour of downtime.

With this in mind and installation costs of about R30k for ten solar panels it becomes a difficult decision for me. 30 000 hours is a lot of downtime.

As long as downtime is split between 20 hours down and 4 hours up my system can cope every day. With a recent 20 hour downtime the batteries were charged to 52V inside 2 hours 30 mins at 49 amps. Take note that they can be charged at 100 amps which should shorten the time considerably. I used 49 amps as my generator can then charge them as well. Which I had to do when we had a 4 day power outage.

[DeepBass9]

That is not solving the problem though, which is to reduce the power bill on a daily basis. If you run your pool pump in daylight hours mainly from solar, you will reduce your power bill.

[Johandup]

19 hours ago, RobertB said:

Running my 1.1kW pool pump is very expensive, so I am trying to find ways to run it with reduced reliance on Eskom.

Apologies, I should have read all the posts.

Rather find ways to run reduce the running hours of your pump.

I use a bubble blanket in summer and a plastic blanket in winter to keep the water clean(er) and to keep the heat inside the pool. When the weather is such that it won’t heat the water I keep the pump switched off.

I have done one season now with Clinobrite in my filter instead of sand. It works better and an added bonus is it keeps green algae away. It also takes iron out of the water - I also use it in a water filter for a borehole to eliminate iron particles.

I use the HTH floater - these I pick up when they are on sale. Recently I bought six for R80 ea.

You really only need a 1.1kW pump when you have a solar blanket heater on the roof to heat the water. A smaller pump will work as well.

My 5c.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Johandup

[RobertB]

Thanks for all your replies. I need to digest it a bit and revert. Appreciate all your advice :)