Recommended plumbing for swimming pool heating
When you heat your swimming pool not only do you need to choose the most appropriate type of heater to match your needs, you should also think about how the heater will be connected to your pool and the other equipment.
There are three possible plumbing methods for pool heating:
Some heating types dictate the plumbing method and others you have a choice. For the same heater and the same heat output, the plumbing method can have significant effects on your energy consumption, your power bills, and the ease of operation. In this article we’ll walk through each possible configuration and look at their pro’s and con’s.
In Series

This works for gas and heat pump heaters (for solar heating an additional booster pump is required). Valves either manual or automatically controlled are installed to push water through the heater or to bypass it when not in use.
A by product of salt water chlorinator’s is hydrogen gas which should not be pumped through heaters. When connected in series or with booster pumps chlorinators must always be installed after the heater.
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Booster pump


Solar pool heaters always require a booster. More work is required to elevate the water to the roof of the house than can be achieved by a stand alone filter pump. Check (one way) valves are used to prevent water in the hoses on the roof flowing back down when the pumps are not running.
Solar heaters can be configured either as the sole heat source, or boosted by a gas or heat pump heater.
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Independent system


Regardless of the heating type – solar, gas, heat pump or a combination, we recommend where possible that the heating be connected entirely independently of the water filtration. Doing so requires separate fittings in the walls of the pool to take cold water in and return the heated water.
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