The brand, size, speed, voltage and horsepower of a pool pump will determine your choice when it comes to selecting the best pump for your swimming pool. Of cause, price is another important factor but if you need the best pool pump that will work best for your pool, has a low maintenance cost and saves you energy, price should come last.
Having said that, lets jump into the most important things you need to consider before finally settling with the best pool pump whether for inground or above ground pool, saltwater or non-saltwater pool.
1. Speed
Speed of the pump is very important. Pumps come in low, medium, and high speed. Remember, the faster a pool pump is, the more you will save on power and vice versa. There are 3 speed types you can choose for your swimming pool depending on its size; and they are single speed, dual speed, and variable speed.
Single Speed Pool Pump
Single speed pool pumps come with one speed setting, which is "High" and cannot be reduced or increased. Single speed pool pumps were the most common and some people still buy it for ease of use, however, I don't recommend single speed pumps because if you need to save on the power, it wont be possible since you cannot reduce the speed setting even when your pool needs slow pumping.
Dual Speed Pool Pump
Dual speed pool pump comes with two speed settings options that are "Low" and "High". This means you can tune your pumps speed to low speed when your pool doesn't need high speed and save on energy especially when the pool is not busy and not being used.
Variable Speed Pump
Variable speed pump is the Cadillac of swimming pool pumps. They come with permanent magnetic motor, and therefore doesn't need electricity to rotate the rotor like in the case of single and dual speed pumps. They are a little expensive because they are more efficient, quiet, and lasts longer than pumps that use induction motors.
The best part is that it's the best option when it comes to energy saving because you can digitally regulate the speed to low, medium, and high depending on the status of your swimming pool.
The best variable speed pumps that are fully programmable are Pentair SuperFlo Variable Speed Pump and Hayward Variable Speed Pump that come with great power saving feature and are Energy Star Certified.
2. Size of Your Swimming Pool in Gallons
The next important thing to consider before spending your money on a swimming pool pump is the size of your pool in gallons. This is because you will need to calculate the flow rate per hour always labeled as GPM (Gallons Per Minute), which is the most important factor to look into when selecting your pool pump.
To get the flow rate hour that will be sufficient for your swimming pool, calculate the size of your pool in gallons and then divide by 8, which is the standard hours a pool pump should take for a complete water circulation (one cycle).
Since pool pumps are labeled with GPM, gallons per minute, you divide the flow rate per hour by 60 minutes to get the GPM your pool will need. For example, if you have a swimming pool of 40,000 gallons, the suitable pump for your pool will be:
Size of Pool in Gallon divide by 8 hours:-
40,000 gallons / 8 hours = 5000 (flow rate per hour)
Flow Rate Per Hour / 60 Minutes:-
5000 / 60 minutes = 83 GPM
As such, pool pump should come with 83 GPM and above to be able to have a trouble -free swimming pool.
3. Voltage and Horse Power
Pool pumps are designed in such way that it will work if you hard wire it directly to power line or an inline that plugs directly to power, either of the power connections is good, however, you need to be very certain of the Voltage depending on the size of your pool.
Pool pumps come in two different voltage levels and they are 110 and 220 voltages, where 110 is lowest and 220 the highest voltage most pool pumps will offer you.