Fair Pool Policy

Our HOA has a community pool that is not heated full-time. The current policy is that the pool will be heated upon request and that weather/temperature will be a factor. For example, if the low temperature is 33 degrees, the pool will not be heated because it would be cost prohibitive. There presently aren't many pool enthusiasts in my HOA, so we rarely get any requests to heat the pool, and the requests generally range from 1-7 days about two to three times per year.

There is a high probability that in the future, some owners will be greedy and want the pool heated every other weak or multiple days throughout the year, even if temperatures are pleasant and then complain if denied.

The most fair policy I can proffer is to allot each owner two heated pool days per year and owners can donate their pool days to other owners.

What are some effective pool policies that have worked in your HOA's for a pool that is not heated full-time?

Just because some owners want the pool heated doesn’t mean they are greedy.

No way I would play carbon credits with the pool.

I’m surprised your pool responds so rapidly to heating that you can tailor it daily.

I’d just start a bit earlier with heating and shut heat off a little later, perhaps on during special events.

How can you possibly know that or predict it with any certainty? Wanting the pool heat turned on is hardly "greedy", it's more like "they pay for it and want it". I'm having a real hard time with characterizing that as "greedy".

Split the baby, I don't know if you have a full time person at your pool to monitor the temperature or if the temperature can be changed remotely or by digital thermostat. Split the baby and keep the temp of the water at 82 an hour before the pool opens and kick it back to 60 or off when the pool closes.

I think SamE suggestion makes the most sense. If I were on your Board I would investigate a Solar cover that has mechanical cover that a switch can be thrown and it opens or closes.

It seems crazy to think that simply 1 homeowner can decide next Tuesday they want the Pool heated to 82 degrees. I would tell them to go take a bath and they can have the tub at whatever temp they choose. It is also very inefficient to let the water get as cold as 62 and then heat it to 82 on request. It would make more sense to budget for the heating cost and maybe limit it to the months March and November when the Sun helps you.

What else do you do in your HOA if 1 single owner requests something? What would you do if one person requests it to be heated and another requests that it not be heated?

Why not base it on the weather? I don't think pools are supposed to be as warm as bathwater anyway. There's a cost to hearing up the pool, so the board should be prudent as to when it should raise it. There's also the matter of algae and bacteria, which develops quickly in warmer water. That means even more costs in pool mantainece - are these folks willing to pay it? Probably not.

I did a little googling and found this - young children and the elderly usually need temperatures between 84-94 degrees. Adults are ok between 85-89 and people who swim for exercise 74-84 degrees. For a commercial pool(e.g. A pool in a park), 82 degrees if used in competition, 84 for recreation.

See how complicated this can get? Apparently your neighbors don't know if care that the temperature can depend on what you're doing in it. They may have also forgotten that the body temperature does dip a bit when you first jump in, but you adjust quickly as you move around in it. That's why my old health club required people to take a quick shower before getting in because you adjust to the pool temperature faster.

So...come with a maximum temperature and set it based on the weather. Run some numbers to see how much more it'll cost to hear the pool when it really isn't necessary, show that to the homeowners and the can decide how often the pool should be heated, understanding there will be an adjustment to the assessment, if necessary.

Heating the pool is very expensive and so are solar panels and a solar cover. In a recent community survey, zero homeowners were in favor of those options.

Phoenix is the city of home swimming pools. I suspect it would be easy to arrange a cost-benefit analysis of adding a pool cover; whether to turn the heat down a bit at night; and so on.

Our pool is open year-round. We considered installing solar thermal panels on the clubhouse to heat the pool in the months when the weather is a bit cooler (few and far between this winter). Every reference we found agreed that a cover on the pool should be used because it will prevent a lot of heat from escaping the water through evaporation. We've read that we shouldn't even begin to consider solar hot water heating for the pool unless we have, and use, a cover first. We've looked into a cover but abandoned the idea when it becamse obvious that no one was willing to oversee its operation on a daily basis (and hiring someone to do it was out of the question).

Correct. No one wants to spend thousands on a solar cover or solar panels.

Amen. Why heat it at all?

Sigh ... now even more confused.