We are out in a warmer part of Northern California would like to reduce energy costs for our pool equipment. We have a 10 year old Jandy Stealth 1 hp/1shpf pool pump with the original AO Smith Century Centurion 7-193993-05 motor controlled with an Innovative ET-1 timer that is working well. The inground pool is around 19,000 gallons and the pump provides pressure to a Polaris 360 as well as a Jandy 460 cartridge filter. There is a separate .75 hp pump for the water feature.
I have heard that we could save a lot of money by going with a variable speed motor or pump and that it would essentially pay for itself in less than a couple of years. I am skeptical and would like to get a less biased and more informed opinion. The pump is pretty loud, but I don’t think it has changed its volume since the pool was installed 10 years ago. The pump itself is working well and seems to be in decent shape.
Here are my questions–
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Will we save a significant amount of money by going the variable speed route?
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Should we just replace the motor or should we change the pump?
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Will the variable speed unit be quieter?
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If we were to replace the pump with a variable speed one, which one would best match our current one?
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If we were to just replace the motor with a variable speed one, which one(s) would be recommended?
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Would we use the existing timer or do we need to replace/bypass the current one?
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How exactly will a variable speed pump save us money? Do we power down the pump for part of the run time so the pressure side Polaris gets minimall pressure?
Thank you in advance.
Hi PoolNovice,
Thank you for the detailed post about your pool! I have answered your questions below…
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Will we save a significant amount of money by going the variable speed route? Yesyou can expect to save 40%-70% on your operational costs with a variable speed pump. We put together an Article On How Much Does a Pool Pump Cost to Run that goes into more detail on the operational costs of a single speed pool pump vs. variable speed pool pump which you may find helpful.
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Should we just replace the motor or should we change the pump?I would just replace your motor as the wet end of your pump should be fine. You would need this 1.65 Variable Speed Replacement Motor The 1.65 HP uprated variable speed motor is the identicalhigh speedHP to your 1 HP full rated motor, as both motors have a true HP of 1.65 HP, you get this by taking your HP x your Service Factor to get your true HP. When replacing your motor you will also need a Jandy Stealth Shaft seal but we would need to know your Jandy Stealth model # this should start with SHP or JHP.
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Will the variable speed unit be quieter? Yesthe variable speed will be quieter especiallyonthe low speeds. With my variable speed pump sometimes on low speed I have to check to see if the pump is even on as it is really quiet.
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If we were to replace the pump with a variable speed one, which one would best match our current one?I would suggest the PureLine Prime PL2605 1.65 HP Variable Speed Pump, the plumbing ports are not in the exact same spot so you may have a little bit ofre-plumbing***.***
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If we were to just replace the motor with a variable speed one, which one(s) would be recommended? You would need this 1.65 Variable Speed Replacement Motor
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Would we use the existing timer or do we need to replace/bypass the current one?You would use the current timer to power the pump on and off and then you would use the controller on the motor to set all your schedules/speeds for the motor.
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How exactly will a variable speed pump save us money? Do we power down the pump for part of the run time so the pressure side Polaris gets minimall pressure?The variable speed saves you money when you run the pump in lower speeds/HP so for basic pool filtration you normally can dial the pump way down which is where you will save most of your money, but you have the ability to ramp the pump up to 1.65 HP for vacuuming or if your pool gets really dirty or water features.