5 Things to Know About Running Your Pool Pump 8 Hours a Day

Eight hours is usually enough for a properly sized pump In summer, running your pool pump eight hours a day typically achieves one complete water turnover every 24 hours, which keeps the water circulating and algae at bay without wasting electricity.

Heavy use or hot weather may require 10 to 12 hours If your pool gets heavy use, lots of leaves, or you live in an area with intense heat and sun, bumping runtime to 10 or 12 hours is reasonable. Anything beyond that is overkill unless your pump is undersized.

Run the pump during the hottest part of the day That is when chlorine works hardest and the sun burns off contaminants faster, making your filtration more effective.

Variable-speed pumps allow splitting runtime into chunks You can run the pump in shorter intervals to keep water moving constantly without running it all at once, which saves energy.

Do not run the pump 24/7 Running it around the clock just burns money and provides no additional benefit for a typical residential pool.