Pool pump running cost calculator

The pool pump energy label assumes a 50,000 L pool turned over once a day. Enter your pool volume and how many times a day you run a full turnover to scale the label figure to your pool, using the pump’s weighted energy factor (WEF, litres pumped per watt-hour) from its registration.

How the calculation works

Daily energy (Wh) = pool volume (L) × turnovers per day ÷ WEF (L/Wh). Annual kWh = daily Wh × 365 ÷ 1,000. Cost = annual kWh × your electricity price. The label’s own figure is 365 × 50,000 ÷ WEF ÷ 1,000, so a pump with a WEF of 30 L/Wh is labelled at about 608 kWh a year.

WEF is a weighted average across the pump’s speeds at the standard test point (the AS 5102 system curve). Real flow depends on your plumbing, filter and pump speed setting, so treat the result as an estimate of the label’s basis, not a measurement.

Where to find the numbers

WEF is printed on the pool pump energy label and in the registration record. Pool volume is on your pool’s build documents, or length × width × average depth in metres × 1,000. Turnovers a day is how many times the pump moves the full pool volume; one is the label basis.

What changes the cost

• Pump speed: on a variable-speed pump, halving the speed cuts power to about an eighth, so running longer on low costs far less than a short run on high.
• Turnovers a day: one turnover is the label basis; a second doubles the energy. Most residential pools are fine on one in the off-season.
• Pool volume: a bigger pool needs proportionally more litres moved per turnover.
• Plumbing, filter and heater: undersized pipes, a dirty filter or a heater in the loop raise the pressure the pump works against, so real flow is below the test point.
• Season: many owners cut run time in winter; days a year at each setting is the lever.

Browse pool pumps by WEF and star rating to pick a model and open it in this calculator.