How much does it cost to heat a pool? Running costs by method
The cost of heating a pool comes from two numbers: how much heat the pool needs, and what a kWh of heat costs with the method you choose. This guide gives both, with sources and a worked example, so you can compare a heat pump, electric heating, gas and solar collectors for your own pool.
Two numbers decide the bill
Heating cost = the heat the pool needs × the price of a kWh of heat. The first number depends on the pool: its volume, whether it's indoor or outdoor, whether it has a cover, the temperature you want and the months you swim. The second depends only on the heating method.
Most of the money goes into the second number, so start there.
What a kWh of heat costs with each method
For running costs, solar collectors are the cheapest: a kWh of heat from the panels costs a few agorot, against about ₪0.13–0.25 with a heat pump, about ₪0.64 with direct electric heating and roughly ₪0.60–1.20 with gas from a household cylinder.
| Heating method | Cost per kWh of heat | Per 1,000 kWh of heat |
|---|---|---|
| Solar panels | A few agorot, just the electricity to run the system | Tens of shekels |
| Heat pump | About ₪0.13–0.25, depending on season and water temperature | ₪130–250 |
| Direct electric (heating element) | About ₪0.64 | About ₪640 |
| Gas, 48 kg cylinder | About ₪0.60–1.20 | ₪600–1,200 |
Electricity at the Israel Electricity Authority household tariff from 1 July 2026 (63.52 agorot per kWh incl. VAT) and typical heat pump COP of 2.5–5: one kWh of electricity gives 2.5–5 kWh of heat, less in cold air. Gas from the Ministry of Energy price survey in Haifa (June 2026): a 48 kg cylinder cost ₪308–616, at about 85% heater efficiency. Large facilities heated with bulk LPG or natural gas pay less per kWh, so there we calculate from the actual gas price.
How much heat does a pool need?
Warming water takes a fixed amount of energy: about 1.16 kWh for every cubic metre and every degree. That gives the first heat-up of the season.
After that you pay for the heat the pool loses every day. For an outdoor pool the biggest loss is evaporation from the surface, mostly at night and in wind; an indoor pool loses much less. The US Department of Energy puts the possible saving from covering a pool when it's not in use at 50–70% of heating costs. How much your pool loses depends on its surface, its site and the weather, so our engineers estimate it at the site survey.
Example: heating a 30 m³ pool from 20°C to 28°C needs about 280 kWh of heat. With a heat pump that first heat-up costs ₪36–70, with direct electric heating about ₪180, with gas from a cylinder ₪170–330, and with solar collectors only the electricity to run the system.
What cuts the cost
Four things change the bill more than anything else, in this order:
A cover at night
Evaporation is the biggest loss of an outdoor pool. A cover when the pool is not in use can save 50–70% of heating costs (US Department of Energy).
The share of the sun
With solar collectors the sun covers a large share of the heat by day and the backup only tops up at night and on cloudy days, so the hours you pay for shrink.
The target temperature
Every extra degree costs more heat every day. Many pools are comfortable a degree or two below the first setting.
The swimming months
Keeping a pool warm through the winter costs far more than a season from spring to autumn, because the losses grow as the air gets colder.
Why we don't publish a monthly price
Because two pools of the same volume can differ several times over: one is indoor with a cover, the other outdoor, open and windy. After the site survey we calculate for your pool the expected share of the sun, the remaining backup hours and the estimated monthly cost with each method, from the numbers above.
Installation costs differ widely by method and site too, so we quote them per site. The running costs above show where the difference builds up over the years; whether and when a system pays back is calculated individually.
How the solar system itself works: Solar pool heating
Questions about pool heating costs
Short answers from the numbers above.
Is a heat pump cheaper to run than gas?
Per kWh of heat, yes: about ₪0.13–0.25 with a heat pump against ₪0.60–1.20 with gas from a household cylinder. Facilities that buy bulk LPG or natural gas pay less per kWh, so there the comparison is made from the actual gas price.
Why is a heating element the most expensive?
Because it turns one kWh of electricity into one kWh of heat, at the full electricity tariff. A heat pump gives 2.5–5 kWh of heat for the same kWh of electricity, and solar collectors take the heat from the sun.
What does solar pool heating cost to run?
Only the electricity to run the system, a few agorot per kWh of heat. The panels have no fuel and no moving parts.
Does a cover really make that much difference?
Yes. The US Department of Energy puts the possible saving from covering a pool when it's not in use at 50–70% of heating costs, because evaporation is the biggest heat loss of an outdoor pool.
What's the cheapest way to heat a pool?
For most pools: solar collectors covering a large share of the heating on sunny days, a cover at night, and a heat pump as backup that the controller switches on only when needed. Which share each part takes for your pool is calculated at the site survey.