Enter your pump's watts, schedule, operating days, and electricity rate to estimate its electricity cost per day, average month, and year.
Table of contents
How to use our Pool Pump Running Cost Calculator
- Choose One power level for a pump with one steady wattage, or Multi-speed schedule if the controller runs different wattage stages.
- Find electrical input watts on the pump display, controller, manual, or specifications. Do not use motor horsepower as watts.
- Enter the daily runtime, or add the watts and hours for every speed stage. Then enter the number of days the pump runs each year.
- Replace the electricity-rate estimate with the usage-dependent $ per kWh rate from your utility bill or rate plan, then click Calculate.
- Check that scheduled pump time matches the controller and that daily kWh seems reasonable for the entered watts and hours. Stage times together cannot exceed 24 hours per day.
Definitions
Watt (W): A measure of electrical power, or how quickly the pump uses electricity while running.
Kilowatt-hour (kWh): A measure of electrical energy used on utility bills. One kWh is 1,000 watts used for one hour.
Electricity rate ($ per kWh): The usage-based price for each kWh. This rate turns the pump's electricity use into an estimated cost.
Operating day: A day when the entered pump schedule runs. A seasonal pool may have fewer operating days than calendar days.
Average power while the pump is scheduled on: The runtime-weighted average wattage of the daily schedule. For one power level, it equals the entered power draw.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
Mistake: Entering motor horsepower as pump power draw.
Fix: Check Pump schedule type and then recalculate. Enter electrical input watts from the pump display, controller, manual, or specifications.
Mistake: Entering 18.34 when the bill says 18.34 cents per kWh.
Fix: Check Pump schedule type and then recalculate. Divide cents by 100 and enter 0.1834 in the $ per kWh field.
Mistake: Using the pump's highest watts for every hour of a variable-speed schedule.
Fix: Check Pump schedule type and then recalculate. Choose Multi-speed schedule and enter the watts and runtime for each programmed stage.
Mistake: Including a fixed monthly customer or account charge in the electricity rate.
Fix: Check Pump schedule type and then recalculate. Use charges that change with kWh. Fixed charges do not change when the pump runs longer.
Mistake: Reading the average monthly cost as the cost during each open-pool month.
Fix: Check Pump schedule type and then recalculate. It is annual cost divided by 12. A seasonal pool can cost more in open months and nothing while closed.
Limitations & Key Assumptions / Boundary Conditions
- This estimates usage-dependent electricity cost only and excludes fixed utility customer, account, and meter charges.
- Electrical input watts are needed for the estimate; motor horsepower is not the same measurement.
- For a variable-speed pump, accuracy depends on entering the watts and hours for every programmed stage. Recalculate after a schedule change.
- The default electricity rate is a June 2026 U.S. residential planning estimate. Your utility rate plan, delivery charges, and time-of-use period may produce a different rate.
- Average monthly cost is annual cost divided by 12, so it does not estimate each open-season month's cost.
- Do not change pump runtime on cost alone. Follow equipment instructions, water-quality needs, and local requirements.
Methodology
Calculation method
The calculator finds electricity used during one operating day first. With one power level, it uses the entered pump watts and runtime. With a multi-speed schedule, it adds the energy from each entered power-and-time stage.
Daily electricity use (kWh) = pump power (W) x runtime (hours) / 1,000
Multi-speed daily electricity use (kWh) = sum of [stage power (W) x stage runtime (hours)] / 1,000
Daily electricity cost equals daily kWh multiplied by the entered electricity rate. Annual energy and cost multiply the daily values by pump operating days per year. Average monthly cost is annual cost divided by 12.
Daily electricity cost ($) = daily electricity use (kWh) x electricity rate ($ per kWh)
Annual electricity cost ($) = daily electricity cost ($) x pump operating days per year
Worked example
A 1,000 W pump running 8 hours uses 8 kWh per operating day: 1,000 x 8 / 1,000. At $0.20 per kWh, its daily electricity cost is $1.60. Running that same schedule for 365 days uses 2,920 kWh and costs $584.00 per year, or $48.67 per month on average.
Calculation choices
The electricity-rate default is a June 2026 U.S. residential planning estimate from EIA. Replace it with the usage-dependent rate that applies when your pump operates. [1] Fixed utility charges are excluded because changing pump runtime does not change them. The estimate assumes the entered watts and schedule stay the same on every operating day; pump settings, plumbing, filter condition, and controller changes can change actual electricity use.