A heated pool in Perth sounds like a luxury until you realise how short the swimming season actually is without one. Most unheated pools here get used hard from December to March, then sit there looking expensive for eight months.

There are three ways to heat a pool: heat pump, gas, or solar. Each one suits a different household, and the wrong choice is how people end up with bill shock. Here’s the honest version.

Heat pump: cheapest to run, set and forget

A heat pump works like an air conditioner in reverse — it pulls warmth out of the air and puts it into your water. That’s why it’s so cheap to run: it’s moving heat, not making it. For every dollar of electricity, you get several dollars’ worth of heat.

The trade-off is the upfront cost, which is higher than solar and similar to or above gas depending on size. It also heats gradually rather than instantly. But once it’s set, it just holds your pool at temperature without you thinking about it. Most of our heat pump customers swim through Anzac Day, and a fair few keep going past it.

Gas: fast, but you’ll feel it on the bill

Gas heating is the sprinter of the group. It can take a cold pool to swimming temperature in hours, not days. If you use the pool occasionally — say, you want it warm for a birthday weekend — gas makes sense, because you only pay when you fire it up.

The catch is the running cost. Heating a pool with gas every week through the shoulder seasons gets expensive quickly. It’s a great tool used occasionally and a painful one used constantly.

Solar: free heat, with conditions

Solar pool heating pumps your water through tubing on the roof, where Perth’s sunshine does the work. Once installed, the running cost is close to nothing — just the pump pushing water up there.

The conditions: it depends entirely on your roof. You need enough north-facing area, and the heat output follows the weather. On a cloudy week in October, you get a cloudy-week-in-October pool. It extends the season at the edges rather than guaranteeing a temperature.

The Perth wrinkles

• We have the sun. Perth is genuinely good solar territory — better than most of the country.
• We also have the wind. The afternoon sea breeze strips heat off a pool surface remarkably fast, especially near the coast. A cover matters as much as the heater — sometimes more.
• The season maths. Unheated, you might get four months of comfortable swimming. A well-sized heat pump and a cover typically stretches that to seven or eight.

Sizing matters more than brand

This is the bit the brochures skip. An undersized heat pump runs flat out all day, costs more to run, and still leaves the pool lukewarm. The right size depends on your pool’s volume, whether it’s covered, and how exposed it is to that sea breeze — not on which logo is on the box.

We install Fluidra heat pumps because they’ve been reliable for us, but we’ll always size the unit to your pool first. A mid-range unit at the right size beats a premium unit at the wrong one, every time.

What an install actually involves

Less than you’d think. For a heat pump: a flat pad near your existing equipment, plumbing it into the return line, and an electrician to wire it up. Most installs are done in a day. Gas needs a gas fitter and a supply line; solar needs roof access and a bit more plumbing. We quote the whole job up front — no surprises on the invoice.

If you’re weighing it up, have a look at our pool heating page, or just call us on (08) 6109 9141 and talk it through. No pressure, no sales script — we’ll tell you what we’d put on our own pool.