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Are you a pool owner and wondering how long you have to run the pump in the pool during the day to get the highest effect? Then you are not alone. The effectiveness of a sand filter system is determined over the running time. This means that the ideal operating time of the pump ensures that the water is filtered without unnecessarily driving up electricity costs. The duration can be precisely determined.
pump in the pool
Many people who are happy about a pool in the garden wonder about the ideal duration of the sand filter system. The pump is an essential part of a swimming pool as it allows the water to circulate and pass over the filters. Operation removes debris from the pool, including:
- fats
- oils
- pollen
- dust
- insects
- other decaying materials
However, the operation of the pumps is associated with electricity costs. Here the problem arises. If the pump is not adjusted correctly, the result is either an unnecessarily high development of operating costs or poor filter performance. That's why a lot of pool owners wonder how long they have to run the pool pump per day. The classic average value of two to three hours a day is not recommended for every pool size. Larger pools in particular can only be cleaned inadequately if such a short period of time is planned for the use of the pumps every day. It is therefore important to determine the exact running time based on the sand filter systems used. Luckily, this is a lot easier than you might think.
notice: If you use a cartridge filter for your pool instead of a sand filter system, you will need to change or clean it at regular intervals. On average, this happens every two weeks, or even weekly if there is a lot of dirt, until the filters can be cleaned and reused without losing filter performance.
Determine operating time
First of all: There is no fixed value that simplifies the ideal operating time of sand filter systems. As mentioned above, average times are very inaccurate as each pump has different characteristics and not all pools are the same size or depth. Many guides assume a fixed number of hours without considering the individual pool and the corresponding sand filter system. Nevertheless, the ideal duration of the operation of the filter system can be determined exactly. You only need the following two values for this:
- Pump throughput of the sand filter system
- volume of the pool
Using these values, it will be easy for you to calculate the daily pump run time. Even if you are not familiar with the calculations for the determination, you will be able to calculate them yourself. In the following sections, the individual values are described in more detail and a sample calculation is also presented that illustrates how the pump running time is determined. You can use this as a guide, which makes the determination much easier.
notice: The pump running time can be longer or shorter depending on the weather, duration of use and degree of pollution, but this cannot be calculated in itself. For this reason, you should definitely consider the external circumstances and run the pump longer or shorter accordingly in order to achieve the best result.
Determine volume
The volume of the pool and the amount of water associated with it is an essential value in knowing how long you should run your pump in order for it to function ideally. The calculation of the volume of a pool depends on the shape and depth, whereby two different values can be used here:
1. Pool depth
The actual pool depth is the height of the tub that is filled with water. This means that if your desired pool is three meters wide, four meters long and 1.5 meters high, this is the pool depth. If the tub is then placed in the ground, your pool is 1.5 meters deep. This value is primarily required to determine the running costs or the amount of water.
2. Water depth
Compared to pool depth, water depth is the actual height of the water once it is in the pool. With a few exceptions, pools are usually not filled to the brim, which has a major impact on the actual amount of water in them. It usually remains between five and ten centimeters from the water surface to the edge of the pool so that the pool does not spill over permanently due to the movement of the water. This is particularly important in private gardens. If the swimming pool fills up with too much water, you can even flood your lawn.
From these two depths, use the water depth to calculate the volume you need for the actual calculation. The reason for this is the fact that the pump only has to clean the volume of water. If you use pool depth instead of water depth, a higher value will be determined after the calculation, which will also increase the final service life. Of course you don't want that, otherwise you would have to pay more electricity. The calculation of the volume with the actual water depth also depends on the shape of your pool. If you have chosen a classic cuboid as the shape, calculate as follows:
Depth in m x width in m x length in m = volume
For a swimming pool measuring two meters wide, four meters long and 1.2 meters deep, the calculation is as follows:
1.2m x 2m x 4m = 9.6m³
That means the pool has a capacity of 9.6 cubic meters. That corresponds to 9,600 liters that the pump has to clean. If instead you have a round pool, you must calculate in the following way:
Pi x radius² in m x depth in m = volume
If your round pool has a radius of two meters and a water depth of 1.2 meters, you arrive at the following value:
Pi x 2²m x 1.2m = 15.1m³
That's all you need to calculate the volume. You can then use the result to find out the ideal running time for your sand filter system.
tip: If your swimming pool has a peculiar shape, for example that of a cylinder combined with a parallelepiped, you can use the same volume calculation. Simply calculate the individual parts individually and add the calculated values.
Determine pump throughput
Besides the volume, the pump set is the other value that is essential for this. The pump throughput describes how much water can pass through the pump and filter per hour. You do not have to calculate the pump throughput yourself, as this is determined by the manufacturer of the system. So look at the information about the device to see what the throughput is. This is given in cubic meters and can usually be recognized by a plaque or a sticker. If this is not possible, you can usually contact the manufacturer or find information about the device on the Internet.
sample calculation
Once you have the volume and pump flow, you can calculate the daily pump run time. This can be calculated just as easily and then provides information on how long the daily duration of use is. For this calculation you need the following formula:
(2 x volume in m³) / pump throughput in m³/h = running time in h
This seems a bit complicated at first glance, but can be quickly mastered if you use the right values. If the volume calculated above and a typical pump throughput of 4 m³/h are selected, the calculation looks like this:
(2 x 9.6 m³) / 4 m³/h = 4.8 h
As you can see, for the medium sized 2m x 4m x 1.2m pool you need to run the pump for about 4.8 hours which is five hours rounded up. The same calculation applies to round pools, since you only need the volume for the calculation. In the above example, you arrive at the following duration for the round pool:
(2 x 15.1 m³) / 4 m³/h = 7.5 h
Depending on how effective your pump is, the running time will be significantly reduced.
Estimates make sense?
In some cases, using an estimate is worth considering, especially if you want to be on the safe side. This means that if higher electricity costs are not a problem for you, an estimated runtime can be used. The bottom line is that all you have to do is run your filtration system long enough throughout the day to get the desired effect. This means that the information provided by numerous pump manufacturers and providers of pool equipment to operate the devices over a period of seven to eight hours can be applied. But make sure that you should only use this very long operating time if your swimming pool fulfills the following characteristics:
- large
- deep
- very dirty
- high algae infestation
- unfavorable situation
Bear in mind that depending on the power consumption of the pump, you will incur high costs. On the other hand, the cleaning performance of the device is very high, which is often noticeable in clean and very clear pool water. For this reason, you can choose the following terms according to the pool size:
- small: two to three hours
- medium: four to five hours
- large: from seven hours
If you're lucky, one of the values will be sufficient for your pool and you won't have to reach for the calculator yourself. However, if it does not work, this is already visible in the water quality. The dirtier this is, the longer you should let the system run. You can only find out exactly how long from the invoice presented above.