Curious about swimming pool automation? Thinking about automating your pool system?
This post it for you
It’s a chilly summer evening and you’ve had a long day at work. On your drive home, you fantasize about hopping into the water and feeling the soft, warm water glide across your skin.
Except in this fantasy, when you get home, you won’t have to turn on the pump to get the water circulating. Nor will you have to wait for your heater to warm up the water. And you won’t have to test your water either because it’s already balanced and crystal clear.
All of that stuff is already done.
So with the usual chores out of the way, you open up the pool cover and set the perfect lighting for an ambient, peaceful midnight swim. The water is perfect and your pool is ready, but somehow, you haven’t even pulled into the driveway yet.
How is all this possible?
Swimming Pool Automation
101
What is swimming pool automation?
Swimming pool automation takes the “maintenance” out of pool maintenance. You know, that list of chores that comes with owning a pool — from adding chemicals and balancing the water, to scrubbing the pool walls and running the filter.
Pool automation not only handles all of that for you but also gives you remote control over the entire pool system (depending on your setup).
At this point, you’ve probably heard all about automatic chlorine generators. And although they are certainly part of pool automation, they don’t represent it as a whole.
That’s because swimming pool automation is more of an umbrella term that covers a full range of automatable processes, not just one.
With swimming pool automation technology, you can remotely:
- Control your pool heater, and adjust water temperature
- Power your pump/filter system on and off
- Automatically manage pool chemical levels
- Activate and adjust LED pool lighting
- Apply and remove covers
Pool Automation Technology
Automatic Pool Cleaners
Scrubbing and vacuuming your pool is no fun. Sure, when you’re on a schedule it isn’t so bad because the pool never gets a chance to get too dirty.
But usually, cleaning is a long and tedious process. And sometimes, you may even forget to do it altogether.
Ever wish you had a robot that could do all of the manual labor for you. You know, like scrubbing the walls and vacuuming the pool floor. A little helper that works in the background, always getting the job done whether you’re there or not.
Well, that’s precisely what automatic pool cleaners do.
Automatic pool cleaners are vacuums that push themselves around, so you don’t have to. And most of them come armed with brushes for scrubbing whatever surfaces they pass over.
There are three different types to choose from: suction side pool cleaners, pressure side pool cleaners, and robotic pool cleaners.
You can learn more about automatic pool cleaners in this post: Automatic Pool Cleaners 101
Automatic Timers
If you’re thinking about trying out pool automation, but aren’t ready to go all out just yet, this is a good place to start.
Automatic timers make it easy to maintain good circulation while keeping your water warm. They connect to your pool system, allowing you to automatically trigger your pump and pool heater based on time and temperature limits.
Timers also protect your pool equipment and act as a line of defense against freeze damage in the winter. Hence why these little additions are a favorite among so many pool owners.
Most automatic timers don’t offer remote control, but they still make it much easier to keep your water clean and readily swimmable. And they also contribute to energy savings by helping you run your equipment optimally, rather than too much or too little (even when you’re not home).
In fact, using an automatic timer is actually one of our energy saving tips for swimming pools
Chlorine Generators
Keeping your water clean and warm is great but what about keeping it sanitized?
That’s where automatic chlorine generators come in.
Usually, you grab your test kit, take a sample of your water, and determine how much chlorine is needed based on the results. A process that, during swim season, can quickly become an added chore — one that you probably don’t have the time to keep up with.
But chlorine generators handle sanitization for you, automatically testing your water and adding the right amount of chlorine on a daily basis. One less thing for you to worry about.
There are different types of chlorine generators, but one of the most popular is the salt water chlorine generator (read more about it here).
Pool & Spa Control Systems
This is where pool automation gets really cool.
Pool and spa control systems give you the ability to manage every aspect of your pool from one centralized location. From filtration and heating cycles to sanitization and lighting — each one is easily adjustable in seconds. Just press a few buttons and watch the magic happen as you sit back and relax.
With a control system, you have your entire pool in the palm of your hand. Seriously.
Most pool & spa control systems these days sync up with an app that can be accessed via smartphone, tablet, or PC. So as long as you have an internet connection, you can do anything, from raising the heat to dimming the lights. And all of it can be done whether you’re sitting at home or waiting in line at the movies.
Combine this with an automatic pool cleaner, and you have a robotic pool care team at your disposal.
Benefits of Pool Automation
Aside from taking most of the work out of owning a pool, pool automation comes with a few noteworthy benefits.
With a pool automation system, you can:
- Save money by scheduling cleaning and heating at night time
- Avoid accidentally running your pool heater too long
- Spend less on chemicals with the help of automatic testing and chemical management
- Keep your pool clean even while you’re away (no need to hire a pool guy)
- Remotely monitor swimming pool usage and condition
- Access a swim-ready pool around the clock
- Simplify pool maintenance
- Spend more time swimming
To automate, or not to automate
With the list of benefits that come with swimming pool automation, from saving money time to saving money, there’s no reason why every pool owner shouldn’t at least consider it. Because even if you’re not ready to automate your entire pool system just yet, you can still start out small with an automatic cleaner or timer. They’re two small additions that can impact the efficiency of your swimming pool in a major way, improving energy efficiency and reducing the load on your filter system.
Of course, maybe you’re just in the research stage, in which case, congrats on getting through this post. From here, we recommend checking out these posts:
How To Extend Your Swim Season
