It's a fact - most swimming pools are never at optimal swimming temperatures, and while much of the time the cold shock of the water can be an exciting part of the fun, it's also great to have the option to warm things up a little. This is where swimming pool heat pumps come in - they're an opportunity to invest in your home while adding to the fun of family memories, as the kids will never want to leave the healthy fun of the water behind.

Now, to be clear - swimming pool heat pumps don't make their own heat. Rather, they use electricity to catch heat and shift it from one place to another. The swimming pool's water is circulated through the pump, and as it does so the heat pump's fan draws in outside air, sucking it onto an evaporator coil, which holds a quantity of liquid refrigerant. This refrigerant substance becomes a warm gas when it absorbs the air, passing through a compressor and growing hotter as it's squeezed more tightly in its container.

Passing then through a condenser, which transfers the gas's heat to the cooler water coming from the other end of the heater device, the gas returns to liquid, and goes back to the evaporator to repeat the cycle. The water returns to the pool, dispersing through it and adding to the pool's overall warmth.

All science aside, essentially what swimming pool heat pumps represent is a more energy efficient solution to the problem of keeping your pool warm year-round. They work better than other in ground pool heaters, such as those involving solar paneling, because they're less seriously affected by changes in weather and the absence of direct sunlight. While they cost initially more than gas pump heating solutions, their long term cost is less due to their higher efficiency levels, in addition to which they have a significantly longer life span.

It's obvious that as with any machine that involves gas, heat coils and such, heat pumps for swimming pools are not things that you want installed in anything but the most professional manner. Make sure that the job's being done by someone with all the proper credentials (yes, there are pool professional credentials), preferably someone recommended to you by friends or family. Poor installation can mean that the pool pump won't operate optimally - you're going need someone that understands the physics and energy requirements of inground pool heaters.

After this concern, you need to consider whether, regardless of the initial price of installation, you can afford to have a swimming pool heat pump running and eating up electricity. As efficiently as it may operate, if your kids are left unchecked running the heater they could well rack up phenomenal bills unless you establish some way to regiment the amount of power the device uses. Consider buying a pool pump timer to cut off power use at a particular number of kilowatt hours.

To read more about efficient Swimming Pool Heat Pumps check out www.BestSwimmingPoolShop.com.