1 Pumps Take Power

A swimming pool can be one of the largest consumers of electrical energy around your home. Every pool has a pump and its job is to circulate water through the filter.

2 How Much Power?

A pump can consume a whole lot of energy. If, for example, the pump and filter are running 12 hours a day, that can easily add up to $100 a month during the pool season.

3 A Smarter Pump

However, there is an intelligent swimming pool pump available, one that the manufacturer, Pentair, says can reduce energy costs by as much as 80 percent.

4 Getting Some Help

Since this was brand new technology and I'm not a pool expert, I asked for and received some help from the Pentair folks.

5 Grab a Power Reading

The first thing the installers do is check and see exactly how much electricity the current pump is consuming.

6 Remove the Old Pump

Removing the old pump is a matter of unscrewing the water lines and disconnecting the power.

7 The New Pump

The new pump sits on the same pad as its predecessor.

8 Connecting the Return Line

Step one is to connect the return water line from the pool. Pipe sealant is applied to the threads of a plastic nipple...

9

...which is then screwed into the pump intake port.

10 Glue It Together

The remaining joints are glued by applying cement to both fittings...

11

...slipping them together and giving a slight twist before the cement sets.

The pump is connected to the return system with a screw-type compression fitting.

12 Cut the Filter Line

Next, the existing line that connected the old pump to the filter is cut, using a heavy-duty ratchet action PVC pipe cutter.

13 Some New Pipe

Then, the new pipe run is built.

14 Flip the Switch

With the plumbing complete and the power reconnected, the breaker is flipped.

15 It's an Intelligent Pump

Now the reason Pentair calls this an intelligent pump is because it has an onboard computer. John enters a few pieces of information like pool capacity and turnover rate.

16 And that's it!

The pump takes over, constantly monitoring water flow and electrical current and making sure that the filter system is operating at peak efficiency. And it does all this very quietly.

17 Before -- 1200 Watts

When the old pump was running, it consumed as much electricity as twelve 100-watt lightbulbs.

18 After -- 300 Watts

The new pump? Only three!