North Carolina has about 157,000 residential pools, one for every 66 residents. Here is what running one costs at North Carolina's electricity price, and the calculators to keep yours clear.
Electricity in North Carolina averages 14.95 cents per kWh, below the median state's 16.32 cents. For a typical 20,000-gallon pool turned over in 8 hours a day:
| Pump | Per month | Per year, if run year-round |
|---|---|---|
| Single-speed, 1.7 kW, 8 h a day | $61.81 | $742 |
| Variable-speed at half speed, 16 h a day | $15.45 | $185 |
Switching saves about $46.36 a month in North Carolina. Run your own pump and pool size in the pool pump calculator, already set to North Carolina's price.
A covered spa whose 4 kW heater runs about 2 hours a day, with a 300 W pump on for 12 hours, uses about 353 kWh a month: $52.72 a month at North Carolina prices.
Heater time is the big variable: a cold winter or a waterlogged cover can double it. Enter your own numbers in the hot tub electricity cost calculator.
Wherever you swim, clear water comes down to a few numbers: free chlorine at 7.5% of your stabilizer or more, pH between 7.2 and 7.8, and enough pump time to filter all the water every day. Sunny, hot weeks use chlorine fastest, so test more often then.
About 157,000 residential pools, one for every 66 residents. That ranks North Carolina 14th of 50 states for the number of pools and 35th for pools per person.
At North Carolina's average residential electricity price of 14.95 cents per kWh, a 1.7 kW single-speed pump running 8 hours a day costs about $61.81 a month. A variable-speed pump moving the same water at half speed costs about $15.45.
About $52.72 a month for a spa whose 4 kW heater runs 2 hours a day and whose 300 W pump runs 12 hours, at 14.95 cents per kWh. Your heater time depends on weather and your cover.
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