Question 1

What is TED and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

TED (Together Energy Device) is a smart pool controller and water chemistry guidance system. It is a WiFi smart plug and mobile app that runs your pool pump on the right schedule and tells you exactly what to add to your water.

TED tackles pool owners' three biggest frustrations: water chemistry guesswork, high running costs, and difficulty adjusting the timer.

TED consists of a Wi-Fi smart plug and an app, putting pool controls in your hands.

Connect TED to your home Wi-Fi, plug your chlorinator into TED, and you're up and running.  TED takes over the timer function, allowing you to do everything from your phone.

The TED app helps you balance your water chemistry easily and in the right order—crucial for keeping your pool healthy while reducing the time your pump and chlorinator need to run.

TED also shows you exactly how much energy your pool is using, how much you're saving, and alerts you when something needs attention. You can manually control the pump from anywhere using the app.

With TED AI, TED learns your pool and suggests when to adjust your pump schedule using real-time energy data, weather, your electricity tariff, and your unique pool profile—so it only runs when necessary and at the cheapest times, maximising your savings and reducing your environmental impact.

Question 2

How much can I save with TED?

Accepted Answer

How much does TED save on electricity? Pool owners using TED typically save $225–$450 per year. Actual savings depend on pump size, current runtime and electricity tariff. TED reduces runtime only as far as water quality remains stable.
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Like many answers you'll get from Together Energy and TED, the answer is "it depends" but let's try to be a bit clearer:

Most pool owners save between 25–50% on energy use, which typically translates to $250–$500 per year — sometimes more if you were always running your pool 12 hours per day, on peak tariff.  TED should often pay for itself in under 6 months.
If you weren't a pool chemistry wizard before - TED should also help you save on chemicals by getting your pool "just right" and minimising future "green disaster" days.
Traditional pump schedules are usually based on generic advice or outdated timers that don't adjust to your pool’s real needs. This leads to over-filtering, especially outside of summer.
TED helps you reduce runtime safely by showing how your water chemistry, bather load, leaf debris, and temperature interact. With a better-balanced pool, you can run your pump less, without compromising on water clarity or hygiene.
TED never takes-over - you stay in control but it will prompt you to keep improving and only using as much as you need.  
The TED App also tracks exactly how much energy you’re using, how much you’re saving compared to your old schedule, and whether there’s room to cut back even more.
If you subscribe to TED Smart-Schedule, your savings can be even greater. TED will automatically shift your pump runtime to align with the cheapest tariff windows or periods of peak solar generation — further reducing your bills and environmental impact.

Question 3

How does TED decide how long to run the pump?

Accepted Answer

TED will suggest reducing your runtime in small increments and verifies that water chemistry stays stable.  Once you find your pool's minimum stable runtime, TED will keep suggesting adjustments to that runtime up and down as conditions change through the year. The runtime is determined empirically from your pool's actual response, not from a generic formula.  It's a feedback loop meaning it learns and optimises YOUR pool.

Question 4

Is TED suitable for my pool pump and/or chlorinator?

Accepted Answer

Yes — TED works with almost all Australian residential pools.
If your pool pump’s schedule is set by a chlorinator (as is common in saltwater or mineral pools), TED replaces the chlorinator’s built-in timer. Plug the chlorinator into TED, and set the chlorinator to “always on” by deleting any existing schedules. TED will then control both the pump and chlorinator together through the app.
If your pool pump plugs into an external timer, TED replaces that timer. Simply plug your pump directly into TED, and deactivate or bypass the old timer. TED becomes your new smart controller, managing the schedule and tracking energy use.
TED is compatible with single-speed, twin-speed, and variable-speed pumps — as long as they plug into a 10A socket, which covers almost all residential pool pumps in Australia.
If your pump is hard-wired into a circuit, TED is not suitable without electrical modifications.

Question 5

Do I need solar or a special electricity tariff to benefit from TED?

Accepted Answer

No — TED saves you money and improves your pool’s operation regardless of whether you have solar panels or a time-of-use electricity tariff.

Most pumps run for too long in Australia. The rules-of-thumb and recommendations you’ll find online or from your pool shop are designed for worst-case scenarios — like oversized pools, high bather or leaf loads, or poor water chemistry.   But most pools don’t need to run 12 hours a day in summer or 6–8 hours in winter.  TED helps you cut this back safely.  In fact most people end up trying to see "how low they can go" with TED.

By helping you balance your water chemistry and run your pump only as long as needed, TED reduces wasted runtime. Most households save 25–50% on pool pump energy use, even on flat-rate electricity plans with no solar.

If you do have solar panels or a time-of-use tariff, TED can deliver even greater savings. The TED Smart-Schedule (available with a subscription) takes into account your solar generation, peak/off-peak pricing, and weather forecasts to run the pump when it's cheapest — or when your solar output is highest.

Either way, TED ensures your pool stays clean and healthy while saving you energy, money, and time.

Question 6

What if I want to control the pump manually?

Accepted Answer

No problem — you’re always in control with TED.

TED lets you turn your pump on or off at any time using the app, wherever you are.  Whether you're just giving the pool a manual vacuum, backwashing the filter, or you just want a couple of extra hours because 3 dogs and 5 kids are spending the afternoon in the pool, using the On-Off button or Timer feature in the App are the easiest way to run a few extra hours and always available.

You can also press the physical button on top of the TED plug to turn it on or off directly — handy if your phone’s not nearby and your playing around with the equipment.

Manual overrides don’t delete your existing schedule. TED will simply follow the schedule again from the next programmed time unless you make changes in the app.

Whether you prefer to set a fixed daily schedule, use timers for one-off runs, or experiment with shorter runtimes, TED is built to work the way you do — with smart suggestions in the background, and full control always in your hands.

Question 7

Does TED change the pump schedule through the year?

Accepted Answer

Yes. UV intensity, water temperature, rainfall and bather load all affect how much filtration a pool needs. A schedule that keeps water clear in winter is too short for summer; a schedule that works in summer wastes energy in winter. TED adjusts the schedule continuously so the pool runs on the minimum runtime for current conditions.

It relies on its knowledge of local conditions as well as your feedback via test strips to determine whether to suggest schedule adjustments.  That way TED optimises YOUR pool.

Question 8

Does TED work with salt-chlorinated pools?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. TED works with chlorine, mineral-salt and salt-chlorinated pools, as well as those with add-ons like ionisers or ozone sanitisers.

Question 9

Does TED work with mineral-salt pools?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. TED works with chlorine, mineral-salt and salt-chlorinated pools, as well as those with add-ons like ionisers or ozone sanitisers.

Question 10

Does TED work if my pool has a heat-pump or gas heater?

Accepted Answer

Our favourite answer: it depends.

In most Australian pools with a gas or heat-pump heater, the heater is plumbed "in line" meaning the water flow to the heater is provided by your normal filtration circuit.  The heat pump typically has a flow sensor, and only operates if the pool pump is running.

If you have a well sized heater that only needs to top up a couple of degrees each day, then your pool's optimised run time (as suggested by TED) should be long enough for your pool's heater to do its job.  But that won't always be the case.

If your heater is undersized, and you are asking for a 28C pool in the middle of a Melbourne winter, your heater would need to work 24 hours a day to reach set point, and so a reduced schedule by TED may clash with that requirement.

So before following TED's recommendations to reduce your schedule, you will need to consider whether you are happy with the water temperature as it stands, and next time you test, determine whether that new schedule is enough to keep your water at the temperature you desire.

Question 11

Does TED work if I have a solar pool heating system?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  Solar pool heating systems typically have their own pump, which activates based on a thermostat.  If the temperature on the roof is sufficient and the pool is below it's desired set-point, then the solar pump will kick-in independently of your normal pool pump's run time.

So TED will continue to reduce your normal pool pump schedule and your heater will operate separately.

Question 12

Does TED work with variable-speed pumps?

Accepted Answer

Yes TED controls any pump that can be operated by power cycling.  Variable-speed pumps that retain their speed setting between power cycles are compatible.

Question 13

What does a TED-managed pool look like?

Accepted Answer

Water stays clear and stable. Free chlorine sits consistently between 1–3 ppm. Pump runtime is no higher than needed for water quality and no lower than safe for the current conditions.

Question 14

Where is TED available?

Accepted Answer

TED is available from our website across Australia. A funded trial with concessional pricing is currently running in South East Queensland in partnership with South East Queensland's energy distributor.

Question 15

Who makes TED?

Accepted Answer

TED is developed and supported by Together Energy, an Australian startup focused on energy solutions to help everyday Australians save money and energy.

TED Support

Frequently asked questions