Pools? and Heat? In Orange, Seminole, Osceola... (homeowners insurance, appliances)

[texastransplant101]

We are moving from Texas and need some info on pools...
How expensive are they to put in?
How expensive are they to run?
How many months of the years will we want to use it?

Also, when looking at homes, what type of heating system is the most efficient?
And, do we need it if we are year round residents.

Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[annerk]

They start at about $25K for a very basic model.

You're energy use will vary depending on if you heat it, how high, and during what months. You will also have pool care costs of $25 to over $100 a month, depending on whether you take care of it or pay someone, as well as the type and size. Your water bill will increase, as will your homeowners insurance.

In my opinion it's too cold to swim from October through April, but that's me, some swim year round.

When we built this place my husband did a lot of research on energy efficiency, and determined that an electric heat pump/ac was the most efficient. In our case, we have gas hot water and dryer.

This isn't the tropics, yes, you need heat. Winter evenings are generally into the 40's. In fact it's supposed to be in the 50's tonight.

[Broker Dave]

Most use solar heating or propane/gas to swim year round, also a pool with a hot tub is nice in the winter.

For energy efficiency if replacing the homes windows, old AC system for a higher seer and increasing the 'R' value of the insulation in the attic is a bit more than you want to do then I would recommend new construction.

Today builders are including double pane windows, high efficiency AC systems with higher seer rates, higher 'R' values and energy efficient appliances.

As a Green Certified Realtor I'm seeing more buyers seeking the cost savings of an energy efficient home.

Energy efficiency just makes good sense lets keep the politics to out!

Hope this helps,

[texastransplant101]

Oh, I forgot to ask about the screened enclosures? That's new to us -- do we need it? If we think we want a pool, could we install one in an established house in most areas pretty easily?

Thanks so much for your info, it helps so much!

[Alyzza]

Hopefully you will be able to draw upon the experiences of others when it comes to pools and using them here. When I moved back here I wanted an in-ground pool, period. it was in need of work but but it was worth it. First thing I did was find a very reliable pool service and now several years later we still have them. Soon after we moved in we had the pool filtering system redone. Had the old one torn out and replaced with a diatomaceous earth salt system. It still uses chlorine but doesn't smell like it or even feel like it. It's also not "salty". I don't remember them now but there were all kinds of reasons for switching to this system. I then also re-learned some basic chemistry and figured I'd just take care of the pool myself. Those bags of salt weigh 50 pounds and these people do such a good job keeping the pool in perfect working order, so at $100 a month we just kept them (includes all chemicals).

Next thing we did was replace the solar heating system. We just had the roof replaced so it was kind of sad putting this up there but we did. If I had the choice again II wouldn't We use the pool between April and October. Like any other manmade thing, those spring leaks now and then. One of the nicest things about the pool is just being able to look at it, it is just so pretty and relaxing even if I never swim in it again.

It costs big bucks to have a pool installed from scratch, that's why I'm glad it was already there.

Regarding screened-in enclosures and fences. Most neighborhoods cover that in their rules in regs. Ours requires a privacy fence around it, so our backyard is enclosed. I sort of can't imagine not having a screened enclosure, especially in a neighborhood with lots of pine and oak trees. This seems to be a record year or acorns. Those screens sure do require maintenance, those leaves and pine needles have to be raked off. The screens occasionally pull loose and get holes to they need to be replaced now and then.

Our water bill isn't too bad. During dry months we do replace about 2 inches of water every week. In the fall we enjoy a drop in the electric bills when we don't have to run the filter all day. The rule of thumb is to run the filter one hour per 10 degrees. When the temp outside is in the 80's, we run it for 8 hours a day.

With all the other things we replaced in the pool of course we wanted a programmable pool with 8 colors to blend in several different arrays. That's real nice!

I also bought a robo pool cleaner that's kinda like a roomba but for the - it keeps the algae . Now I wish I wouldn't have done that because it was very expensive and didn't last past its warranty. There is no swivel attachment between the appliance and the outlet so you get to detangle it!

With all this said when everything works well, which is most of the time, it's definitely not a big problem, and I love having a pool!

[FL little foot]

Can I ask about the electricity costs to run the filter? How much could one expect their electric bill to rise monthly if running the filter for 8 hours a day?