Pool Pump electricity cost calculator

Running cost at different usage times

These examples hold 1500W, 100% duty cycle and 18.16¢/kWh constant. They illustrate the arithmetic, not recommended schedules. Follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions.

How to estimate your pool pump electricity use

For a variable-speed pool pump, calculate watts × hours ÷ 1,000 for each part of the day and add the kWh. Multiply that total by your price in dollars per kWh. Use power readings that belong to each operating period; a maximum rating applied to the whole day can misrepresent the schedule.

Add up a variable-speed pump schedule

1. Find electrical input watts for each operating setting in your exact model documentation, an existing pump display or a suitable energy monitor. Check whether the display reports estimated watts or measured input power. RPM, a speed percentage and gallons per minute are different quantities; do not enter them as watts.
2. Record the average input watts and actual hours for each non-overlapping part of one representative use day. Convert minutes to hours by dividing by 60. Include priming, cleaning or other pump operation when it adds energy outside the periods already counted. The time blocks for this one pump must not overlap or exceed 24 hours together.
3. Open the multiple-appliance planner linked below. Use one row per operating period, Quantity 1, its Average input power and its Time used. Add a load for the next period, then enter your electricity price in cents per kWh and the exact number of days that this same daily schedule repeats. A second row describes another period for the same pump, not a second pump.
4. If you have dedicated pump-system kWh instead, choose Metered energy in the calculator above. Enter the difference between cumulative start and end readings and all elapsed measurement days. That energy already includes the operation inside its boundary; do not add the same speed periods again. For one steady operating period, Watts and hours with its actual running hours and 100% duty also works.

Add your pump's operating periods in the planner →

These are invented inputs for two periods of one pump, not manufacturer measurements, recommended speeds or a filtration schedule. They show only the energy in those eight hours; other operation or standby needs its own accounting. The planner uses exact repeat-days. The reference tables and watts-and-hours calculator on this page instead show a 30.44-use-day monthly equivalent, which would be $23.13 at this example daily cost.

Reading pump data and comparing schedules

This estimates electricity cost. It does not determine required filtration hours, sanitation, flow, freeze protection or a suitable pump size. Follow your pool and equipment requirements when assessing schedules. Purchase, installation, maintenance and fixed utility charges are separate.

• Check the units and wording on your model. The Pentair IntelliFlo3/IntelliPro3 user guide calls its dashboard Run Data estimates; its illustrated display labels power as Est. Power (watts). That is an operating estimate, not a cumulative kWh reading or a documented revenue-grade meter. The same guide distinguishes scheduled, timer and manual programmes.
• Horsepower is not electrical input. About 746 watts is the mechanical equivalent of 1 HP; actual input depends on load and efficiency. Likewise, a single RPM does not imply one universal wattage across different pumps, plumbing, filters and operating conditions.
• Compare complete schedules that meet the same pool and equipment needs. Pentair's savings calculator uses specified test-curve and runtime assumptions and says actual performance depends on the installation. Its modelled percentage saving is not a promise for your pool.
• Use actual season days. If cleaning days, summer use and winter operation have different daily schedules, calculate those periods separately and add their costs. The planner repeats every entered row for the same number of days.
• Count a heater, salt chlorinator, booster pump or lights separately only when their energy is outside your pump reading. A single electricity price also cannot reproduce a tariff with different prices at different times.

Calculation and data sources

Daily kWh = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × duty cycle ÷ 100. Multiply kWh by your rate in dollars per kWh to get cost. The wattage, hours and duty cycle above are editable example assumptions, not EIA measurements of this appliance.

The US and state average prices come from the EIA for August 2026. A state average is a starting point; your bill is the better source for your tariff.

• EIA: US average electricity prices by sector
• EIA: residential electricity prices by state
• Pentair: IntelliFlo3/IntelliPro3 user guide, dashboard and programmes (PDF, printed pages 4–5)
• Pentair: pool-pump savings calculator and its operating assumptions
• US Department of Energy: motor input power, load and efficiency (PDF, pages 3–7)
• Our assumptions and calculation method

Electricity running cost by state

Sorted by average electricity price. These reference figures use 8.00 hours per day at 100% duty cycle, for 30.44 days per month and 365 days per year. Seasonal use will cost less than this year-round scenario. Click a state to load its rate.