Pool equipment upgrades and automation

The detail, in full

• What this service involves, start to finish

  Sullivan’s installs variable-speed pumps, salt chlorine systems, LED lighting and automation. The upgrades worth doing in Austin are the ones that pay for themselves: a variable-speed pump run long and slow costs a fraction of a single-speed pump run short and fast, and it is quieter, which matters on the small lots in Crestview and East Austin where the pad sits near a fence line. We will also tell you when an upgrade is not worth it on your pool.

  • Variable-speed pump conversion, sized and programmed for your pool’s turnover
  • Salt chlorine generator installation and sizing
  • LED lighting replacement, including color-change retrofits
  • Automation and remote control, including scheduling that actually gets used
  • Heater replacement, gas or heat pump, with the running-cost comparison first

• Do variable-speed pool pumps save money?

  Yes, and the reason is physics rather than marketing: power draw falls roughly with the cube of speed, so running at half speed for twice as long moves the same water for a small fraction of the electricity. On an Austin pool running long summer hours the difference is large enough that the pump is usually the first upgrade worth making.

• Is a salt pool better than a chlorine pool?

  A salt pool is a chlorine pool — the cell makes chlorine from salt rather than you carrying it in. It is gentler on skin and eyes and easier to keep steady, but it raises pH continuously, so it needs acid and attention rather than none. Salt is also corrosive to some stone and metal, which matters on the limestone coping common west of MoPac.

These are the questions about pool equipment upgrades and automation. Every question we are asked often is answered across the whole site.