Contact Information
- Solahart Central Coast
- Unit 12, 41 Accolade Avenue
- Morisset NSW 2264
- 1300 362 821
- centralcoastsolahart@bigpond.com
A backyard pool is one of the joys of life on the Central Coast, but it comes with a cost that many homeowners only notice when the power bill lands. The culprit is usually the pool pump, quietly running for hours every day and steadily adding to your electricity use. The good news is that solar for pool owners on the Central Coast is one of the smartest ways to take control of that cost, because a pool pump and a solar system are a near-perfect match.
In this guide we look at what a pool really costs to run in our region, why solar offsets it so effectively, what size system you need, and the equipment choices that make the biggest difference for local homes in Gosford, Erina, Terrigal, Wyong and beyond.
Pools are everywhere on the Central Coast, and most run a pump for six to eight hours a day to keep the water clean. Over a year, a typical pool pump can use somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 kWh. That is often more electricity than your fridge, washing machine and dishwasher put together.
Because the pump runs day in and day out, it quietly becomes one of the largest single loads in the home. That also makes it one of the biggest opportunities. Reduce or offset the cost of running the pump and you make a real dent in the whole bill, which is exactly where solar comes in.
At current NSW electricity rates, the pool pump alone can add roughly 700 to 1,400 dollars a year to your bill, depending on the pump and how long it runs. The type of pump makes a big difference:
If you also heat your pool, that is a separate and often larger cost again, whether you use gas, electric resistance heating or a heat pump pool heater. We will come back to heating shortly.
Here is why pool pumps and solar work so well together. Your pump does most of its work during the day, and that is exactly when a solar power system is generating the most electricity. Instead of buying power from the grid to run the pump, you can run it on free energy straight from your roof.
This is what makes a pool one of the most solar-friendly loads in any home. The real value of solar comes from using the power you generate rather than exporting it for a small feed-in tariff, and a pool pump soaks up that daytime generation beautifully. Set the pump to run in the middle of the day and you are effectively powering it for free.
As a rough guide, offsetting a pool pump usually calls for an extra 1.5 to 3kW of solar on top of what your household already needs, with more again if you heat the pool. Because of that, many Central Coast pool homes are better suited to a 10kW or larger system rather than the standard 6.6kW that suits a smaller household.
The right size depends on your pool, your pump, whether you heat the water, your everyday household usage and your available roof space. A quick assessment is the most reliable way to land on the correct figure for solar across your NSW Central Coast home rather than guessing and ending up short.
If you want the single biggest win, pair solar with a variable-speed pool pump. A variable-speed pump can cut pool electricity use by 50 to 80 per cent compared with an old single-speed unit, because it runs slowly and quietly for routine filtering instead of always running at full power.
Now combine that efficiency with solar and a timer that runs the pump during peak generation hours, and you reduce both how much energy the pump uses and how much of it you pay for. For a Central Coast pool owner, that combination is one of the highest-return upgrades available. Tools like the Solahart smart energy management system make it easy to schedule and monitor exactly when your pump draws power.
Do you need a battery to run a pool on solar? Not necessarily. If your pump runs mainly during daylight, your panels can cover it without any storage at all. A battery earns its place when your home also has significant evening demand, such as air conditioning, an electric vehicle, or a heat pump that runs after dark.
In those homes, a home battery stores surplus daytime solar so it can power the evening load instead of the grid, improving your overall savings. Whether it stacks up for your situation comes down to your usage pattern, which is worth modelling before you decide.
If you want to extend your swimming season, the way you heat the pool matters. There are three common options:
For a home that already has solar, a heat pump pool heater is often the standout choice. It runs on electricity, which your panels are already producing during the day, and it delivers four to six times more heat energy than the electricity it consumes. Running it on solar generation makes for a very cost-effective way to keep the pool comfortable.
Picture a home in Gosford or Erina with an existing 6.6kW solar system that has just added a pool with a variable-speed pump. By scheduling the pump to run during the middle of the day, almost all of its energy comes straight from the roof rather than the grid. Against the cost of running that same pump on grid power, many households save several hundred dollars a year on the pool alone.
Add a modest solar expansion to cover the extra load, or a battery if there is heavy evening use, and the household keeps more of its generation working for it. The exact payback depends on your tariff, pump and habits, but the direction is clear: solar turns one of your biggest household costs into one of your smallest.
Every pool home is a little different, so the best combination of system size, pump and storage is always worth tailoring to your property. The local team at Solahart Central Coast has been helping households across the region cut their energy costs for over 30 years and can assess your pool, your current system and your usage to recommend the right setup. Book a free assessment to stop your pool pump driving up your bill, and check the current Central Coast solar offers while you are at it.
A typical Central Coast pool pump uses 2,000 to 4,000 kWh a year, which at current NSW electricity rates works out to roughly 700 to 1,400 dollars annually for the pump alone, before any pool heating costs are added.
Yes, and pool pumps are one of the best-matched loads for solar because they usually run during daylight hours when generation peaks. On the Central Coast that overlap is especially strong through summer, when both solar output and pool usage are at their highest.
Most pool homes on the Central Coast suit a 10kW or larger system rather than the standard 6.6kW. The exact size depends on your existing household load, pump type, whether you heat the pool and your roof space, so a local assessment will give you a tailored figure.
Yes. A variable-speed pump uses 50 to 80 per cent less electricity than a single-speed pump, and pairing it with solar maximises the saving. For most Central Coast pool owners it is the single highest-return upgrade available.
Not necessarily. If your pump runs mostly during the day, solar alone offsets it well. A battery makes more sense if you also have heavy evening loads such as air conditioning, an electric vehicle, or a heat pump running outside daylight hours.
Over a full season, a heat pump pool heater paired with solar is usually the cheapest to run, producing four to six units of heat for every unit of electricity. Gas has a lower upfront cost but much higher running costs, while solar pool heating is excellent for extending the warmer months.
Many Central Coast pool homes see payback on the pool-related portion of a solar upgrade within about four to six years, especially when combined with a variable-speed pump. Adding a battery extends the payback a little but improves overall household savings.
Bellevorg Pty Ltd (ABN 37 133 510 531), trading as Solahart Central Coast, operates the Solahart dealership in the region covering from the Hawkesbury River, Bucketty, Dooralong, Cooranbong, and across to Caves Beach. NSW Contractor Licence No. 210883C, Electrician Licence No. 211340C, Plumber Licence No. 379864C.
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Solahart Central Coast
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At Solahart, we’re proud to be leading Australia’s solar charge. Helping smart Aussies make a real difference to the planet, reducing their reliance on the grid, cutting their energy bills, and connecting them to their smart energy future.
Since 1953, we’ve been the trusted name in Australian solar, installing over a million solar hot water systems in over 70 countries, and over 700,000 solar power panels in Australia.
