Pool cover savings calculator

Estimate the yearly heating and water savings from a pool cover. Enter your existing annual heating energy and choose what it represents: useful heat from a heat pump or gas heater, or electricity already measured at the heater. Useful heat is heat reaching the pool; metered electricity is energy bought to produce it.

For useful heat, also enter the heat pump COP or gas heater efficiency. Then enter lower and higher assessed heat reductions from using the cover. These percentages need evidence for your pool and cover routine. They are not standard savings supplied by the calculator.

Add annual evaporation top-up water, its assessed reduction and the matching water price. Enter the installed cover quote and any extra annual maintenance. The result shows two net-saving scenarios, the heating and water parts, and simple payback where the savings are positive.

First find baseline purchased heating energy: useful heat ÷ COP for a heat pump, useful heat ÷ efficiency fraction for a gas heater, or the entered metered electricity for resistance heating. Energy saved = baseline purchased energy × reduction fraction. Annual net saving = (energy saved × matching price per kWh) + (water saved in kilolitres × price per kilolitre) − extra annual maintenance. Simple payback (years) = cover price ÷ positive annual net saving.

COP means heat delivered divided by electricity used. A COP of 4 means 4 kWh of heat per 1 kWh of electricity; use 4 directly. Convert percentage reductions and heater efficiency once, such as 60% to 0.60. Electricity and gas energy prices in cents per kWh are divided by 100 to give dollars.

Water saved is the entered top-up litres multiplied by the reduction fraction. Divide saved litres by 1000 before applying a price per kilolitre. The same water saving is used in both heat-reduction scenarios. The larger heat reduction gives the higher saving when other inputs remain the same.

These illustrative inputs are separate from your saved answers. Prices, use and performance are held constant for this worked scenario; they are not personal defaults.

Only water lost through evaporation belongs in the water baseline. A whole-pool top-up total may include splashing, leaks or other losses that a cover will not prevent. Keep the baseline period and the assessed reduction on the same basis.

The tool does not estimate heat loss from pool area, local weather, wind or cover type. It does not infer how many hours the cover will be used. Use records or an installer assessment that accounts for those conditions. A generic marketing percentage is not a measurement of your pool.

Simple payback uses positive annual savings after extra maintenance. Zero or negative savings have no finite payback. Prices and use remain unchanged in this illustration. Finance, future price changes, repairs and cover replacement are excluded. Existing energy supply charges are outside the estimate. Round only displayed money; the calculations retain their full precision.

The published electricity option uses EIA state residential averages for July 2026, released on 24 September 2026 and checked on 14 October 2026. These describe past average prices. They are not your supplier's offer or a promise of future prices. Choose your bill price for a personal comparison. Include the taxes and usage charges that change with consumption; keep fixed account charges separate.

Water uses litres and a price per 1000 litres. Convert US-gallon quantities and their price together before entry. Gas heat must use the cents-per-kWh price requested by this form, rather than an unconverted price per therm.

Ask a pool professional to check the annual heating baseline and expected heat and evaporation reductions for your location and cover routine. Request a quote that identifies installation and ongoing maintenance.

Check the maker's fitting, storage and safe-use instructions before buying. A heat-saving calculation does not establish a cover's safety rating or suitability for a particular pool. The calculator cannot inspect the installation or confirm safe pool operation.