Is your pool pump unusually loud or sound like its struggling to do its job? Is so it’s inevitable, your pool pump is at the end of its life. If you do not already own an energy efficient variable speed pump, I am sure you have at least heard of them. Many home owners struggle with the fact that the variable speed pumps have a much larger up front cost than the single speed pumps. The great thing is that the energy efficient variable speed pumps will pay for themselves in a short amount of time. Here is how:

Historically, pool pumps with induction motors that run at only one or two speeds have drawn more energy than is required to circulate pool water. That is because a pump that can run at only one speed must use a powerful enough speed to do the pump’s most demanding job (e.g., running a waterfall or pool cleaner). However, it takes far less power to simply keep water filtered—a difference single-speed pumps cannot address.

No matter what kind of pump is being used, slower pump speeds save energy. They also dramatically reduce the noise level associated with traditional pool pumps and reduce wear on not only the pump itself but also on filters, heaters, chlorinators and other equipment that water flows through.

Even with all of these advantages, the price tag of these technologically advanced pumps may at first seem hard to justify. But compare the cost of a new variable-speed pump with the cost of doing nothing.

If a pool uses a single-speed pump, it will cost approximately $900 per year to run that pump. After five years, the owners will have spent $4500 running that pump. Meanwhile, in a well-designed system with a variable-speed pump, the comparable operational costs may be as little as $200 per year. So at the end of five years, the dollars spent running the pump will be about $1000, less than 1/4 what would have been spent running the old single-speed pump. The cost savings continue to multiply the longer the new pump is used.

Bottom line: the initial cost of a variable-speed pump can be recouped in the second year.