Swimming Pool Automation Guide 2022

Pool Automation? What Is that?

Ever heard of a pool automation system before? Let’s catch you up.

With pool automation systems, you can take the stress out of pool maintenance with a convenient pool automation panel that makes tackling your pool’s maintenance automatic and virtual. This can induce everything from adding chemicals to balance out the water, running the filter, and turning on the lights.

With pool automation, you can not only set up your maintenance to happen without lifting a finger but handle any additional tasks remotely, whether you’re by the pool or not. This way, your dream of coming home to take a dip in a pool that’s ready to go is made a reality.

The remote control you can have with a pool control system includes:

• Adjusting water temperature
• Turning on the pump and filter system
• Automatically managing chemical levels
• Adjusting LED pool lighting
• Removing and applying covers

Sounds pretty sweet, right? Trust us - it’s well worth the upgrade.

Pros & Cons

Okay, upgrading your pool control with the latest automation systems sounds great, but there are perks and downsides to every decision. To help make it clear just what you’re getting yourself into with pool automation, here are the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Allows you to save money on energy costs
• Limits equipment wear
• Simplifies pool controls
• Takes concern about remembering to turn systems on and off out of the picture
• Automation is flexible 
• Systems are easy to upgrade

Cons:

• Must be relatively tech-savvy to manage the systems
• Typically requires professional installation
• Can be expensive to install

What Pool Systems Can Be Automated?

So, what exactly can be included in your pool control system anyways? The options are endless these days, but to help expand your awareness of pool automation, here are some of the go-to systems to integrate into your automatic controls.

Pool Heating and Water Temperature Control

One of the biggest perks of opting for pool automation is the ability to control pool heating and the water temperature remotely. With this technology, you can bring your pool to the desired temperature, no matter where you are at the moment, to ensure it's just to your liking once you dive in.

There are a lot of program options for automating the temperature of your pool, and you can program in different settings to suit different needs. From “parry time” to “vacation” modes, you can set your pool to adjust to various scenarios from near and far.

Powering Your Pump and Filter System

Another perk of pool automation is setting up a swimming pool pump controller. With this automation, you can set the amount of time your pump runs throughout the day to best suit the specific size of your pool, as well as the number of people using it.

Additionally, you can avoid the stress of turning on your pump and filter by automating it, allowing your pool to get the necessary filtration it needs no matter how absentminded you are that day. This way, you can ensure your water is clean and circulated properly no matter what. To help with this, automation systems include a pool timer. With a swimming pool timer, you can automate the system for regular filtration from your smartphone.

Adjusting Pool Chemical Levels

As all pool owners know, maintaining the right pool chemical levels is essential, and with automation, this can be made significantly easier. With pool automation, you can keep a consistent pH in your pool, regulating the systems with the right amount of chemicals to keep your pool clean and well functioning.

By automating your pool chemical levels, you can not only avoid any mixups with the levels but keep costs down too. This automation saves you both time and money, making sure you’re never over or underdoing it with the chemicals to avoid issues in the long run.

Adjusting Lighting

Setting up pool automation systems for lighting is one of the easiest adjustments you can make. You can program your routine into the system, ensuring it’s well lit no matter the time of day using the digital pool timer. This is one of the easier upgrades to make and is important for ensuring the safety of all swimmers at your pool. By keeping the pool well-lit both day and night, you are creating a safer pool environment.

Additionally, lighting automation can be used to change the brightness levels and color of lights. This is wonderful for creating different vibes, whether it’s date night or you’re hosting friends. Not sure what options are at your disposal? Check out our swimming pool lighting guide to explore more.

Pool Covers

Manually retracting a pool cover can be a cumbersome task, especially when cranking the cover by hand. Thankfully, this can be automated, too!

Automatically retracting a pool cover will help keep the pool area safe, ensuring it’s never exposed when young kids are running around or if there’s a storm. This can be relatively easy to install, especially when letting a professional handle it. However, this can be an expensive upgrade.

Automatic Pool Cleaners

A clean pool is a much more enjoyable pool, and this process can be added to your swimming pool controllers, too. By automating your cleaning system, you can have your cleaners turn on and off on a specific schedule each day, or do so quickly remotely to prep for visitors. This technology essentially works as robot vacuums within your pool, using smart technology to keep it spic and span.

This is one of the fastest upgrades to make, and also pretty easy no matter the size of your pool.

Voice Assistants

Obsessed with Siri? Your pool can be just as smart, too.

With the latest pool automation systems, you can integrate voice assistant devices like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home to fully integrate your voice technology. This can help integrate your pool needs into your voice assistant tasks, maintaining a convenient routine and keeping the pool automation process as easy as possible.

Using IFTTT

IFTTT, which means “if this then that,” refers to software integrations that can be used in pool automation to help make different controls work automatically. For example, you can integrate your weather app with your pool’s temperature, ensuring the pool heats up when the weather drops below a certain degree. Additionally, you can link your GPS with the pool system, too, telling the pool jets to start up when you get within a particular radius of your home.

While this is a pretty basic linking method, it does require a keen knowledge of programming, so a professional is best suited to handle this task.

What About Complete Pool Automation Systems?

You now know a few of the options to include when automating your pool, but you can automate all of your pool systems, too. With the right pool automation panel, you can create a  single smart hub to host all of your automation, keeping your pool on a strict remote control schedule for a well-run system.

Fully automating your pool control can be a really cool endeavor, but costs a great deal to set up. This is a complicated task and requires a trained professional to set it up properly to ensure everything runs just as it should. Additionally, this kind of integration will require a strong internet speed to keep everything running correctly. Keep in mind - this may require a WiFi booster to achieve.

Pros & Cons

So, why should you set up a complete pool automation system? There are benefits and downsides to this pool control choice, but ultimately it’s up to your preferences. To help you explore this option, here are the pros and cons of a complete pool automation panel.

Pros:

• Helps make upgrading an older pool easy
• Lowers costs to upgrade in the long run
• Boosts the efficiency of your pool systems
• Helps save money on plumbing and electrical costs
• Allows you to connect with voice assistants with an app

Cons:

• Is a very complicated system to install on your own
• Will have initial high costs to install
• Each individual product needed to set up full pool automation is  expensive

What Does It Cost?

We’ve talked a lot about your options for setting up an automatic pool control system. Now, it’s time to answer the big question - how much does this all cost?

The final cost depends on how many automation tools you already have included in your pool. For a full pool control system when you already have a few of the features set up, you will simply need to add a smart hub control system to control your systems remotely. This pool control panel will cost anywhere from $900 to $2,500 on its own.

In the case that you do not have any automation systems in your pool at this time and need the entire control system installed, it’s time to turn to the professionals. This process can cost around $20,000 with all the products and accessories. If this feels like too steep of a price upfront, it may be in your best interests to set up a few of your must-have features, and slowly build up to the full control panel.

Adding Pool Automation to Existing Equipment

Setting up a pool automation panel doesn’t have to start from scratch with an entirely new pool. In fact, you can upgrade your existing equipment with automation systems. This can be done by adding a device to your already installed equipment that allows you to control the functions or automate from your phone. However, keep in mind, this can be a bit more expensive than just installing a new automated system. Plus, a new automatic pool control system will last longer in the long run.

Still, Wondering if You Need Pool Automation?

Not sure if you need to install pool automation? Ultimately, this upgrade is all about making your life easier. Sure, it’s not needed, but what really is? By automating your pool system, you can make maintenance a breeze and ensure your pool is running smoothly, no matter how busy you get or how far from home you are. If you’re on a budget, it’s surely something you can wait on, but it will ultimately make your day-to-day task list much shorter.

Can I Do it Myself?

We are all about a DIY project, but when it comes to swimming pool controllers and automating your system, it’s best left to the professionals. There’s a lot of coordination, technology, and expertise that’s needed to install these systems and sync them properly, and if done incorrectly, it’s certainly not worth all the money. By relying on a professional to handle the process, you can ensure all the systems work as they should for a truly well-monitored pool.

Conclusion

From heating your pool before arriving home, to ensuring that all the chemical levels are correct and the swimming pool pump controller is running smoothly, pool automation systems are designed to benefit you. To save you time and ensure your pool is in good shape, opting for a pool automation panel can ease your mind and allow you to spend more time enjoying your pool versus taking care of it.

While a pool automation system will surely make your life easier, the process of installing it won’t. This is why relying on a professional for pool automation is so important. With a professional team, you can ensure your pool is properly synched and set up for your needs. And when it comes to automating your systems, finding a local electrician to handle the job is the way to go. With a local partner familiar with Palm Beach County, you can ensure your pool is set up to best weather your environment for a well-functioning, clean, tech-savvy pool.

To explore your pool automation options and for a team to tackle installing your swimming pool controllers, our experts at High Voltage Electric are here to help. Contact us today to discuss the automation of your pool now.