How TED Saves Money on Your Pool Running Costs

Typical example of a pool before and after TED smart scheduling in SE QLD

Rules of thumb cost money

Most pool owners set two schedules and leave them alone. Summer: 12 hours a day. Winter: 8 hours a day. Average across the year: 10 hours a day.

Why that schedule? Because that's what we've always done. It's a rule-of-thumb. The pool shop, google search etc all agree. And to be honest, we don't really like changing the timer.

It mostly works. The pool stays clean but the bill stays high.

TED works differently — and the difference is worth around $450 a year.

The problem with fixed schedules

Your pool doesn't need the same amount of filtration every day of the year. It is also different from your neighbour's pool. In fact, every pool is unique - different equipment, size, conditions, usage.

A hot week in January with the kids in the pool every afternoon needs more run time than a cool overcast day in June with nobody swimming.

Fixed schedules are set for the worst case — and run at that level every day, whether the pool needs it or not.

How TED schedules your pool

TED adjusts your run time based on the actual conditions: your test strip results, UV exposure, seasons, weather, bather load signals, and your local climate. Instead of two settings, it effectively works across a range — running longer when conditions demand it and shorter when they don't.

A TED-managed pool in SE Queensland might look something like this across the year:

Season	Typical daily run time
Peak summer	10 hours for two months
Beginning / End of summer	8 hours for four months
Autumn	6 hours for two months
Beginning / End of winter	4 hours for two months
Mid winter	2 hours for two months

That averages out to around 6.3 hours per day — compared to 10 on a typical fixed schedule.

What that saves

3.7 hours a day, on a standard 1.1kW pool setup at 35 cents per kWh:

3.7 hours x 1.1kW x $0.32 x 365 days = $485 per year

Run those hours during peak tariff times and the saving is higher.

The numbers will vary if you have solar or a variable speed pool pump, but the % of savings will remain.

For David and Sara — TED customers in Sydney — didn't realise their pool was running 12 hours all year round and the immediate saving was 58% on their pool electricity costs. Their pool was running far longer than it needed to, at the wrong times of day.

TED also shifts when your pool runs

Saving hours is only part of it. TED also moves your pool's run time to the cheapest part of the day — off-peak tariff windows and, if you have solar, the hours when your panels are generating.

Running 5 hours at off-peak rates costs less than running 5 hours at peak rates. Both savings stack.

The result

Less run time. Cheaper run time. A pool that's still clean — because TED only reduces hours the pool doesn't need, not hours it does.

Want to see how much your pool is costing you. Read this article.

SE Queensland pool owners can get TED now through the Energex trial with a fully refundable $49 deposit at www.togetherenergy.com/seqldlp. Outside the trial area, TED is available at togethernrg.com.