Pentair pool equipment: what we install and why

Our fiberglass packages are priced as complete, installed pools, from $68,400 for the Dignity 10x20 and Enrichment 9x17 up to $103,900 for the Virtuous 16x40. The equipment list is the same on every one of them.

• A Pentair variable-speed pump.
• A Pentair DE filter.
• Pentair MicroBrite LED color-changing lights.
• A cleaning kit and starter chemicals.
• The electrical hook-up at the equipment.

Along with that comes a 4 ft concrete wrap deck and full installation. We did not build a cheap base package with good equipment held back as upgrades. Our approach is that quality materials prevent failures down the road and a pool should get the best equipment available. The equipment pad is where that shows up first.

The pump runs more hours than anything else on the pool, so it is where efficiency pays off. A variable-speed pump can run slowly for most of the day and speed up only when it has to. ENERGY STAR sums up why that matters: halving a pump's speed lets it use about one-eighth as much energy. Pentair describes the same thing as an 87 percent cut in consumption at half speed.

Federal efficiency standards for pool pumps, in force since July 19, 2021, point the same direction, and Pentair notes that variable-speed pumps are the way to meet them for typical inground pools. For you, the practical results are lower electric bills over an Ohio season, a much quieter equipment pad, and better filtration, because water moving slowly through a filter gives it a better chance to catch fine particles. Our guide on variable-speed pumps covers how to set the speeds.

Water clarity. Pentair rates DE filters at less than 5 microns, compared with 10 to 30 microns for cartridge filters and 20 to 100 for sand. On a fiberglass pool with a glossy finish, lit from inside at night, the difference between clear and slightly hazy is easy to see.

That fine filtration earns its keep in Northeast Ohio's pollen season. Tree pollen is fine enough to slip past coarser filters and leave the water dull. A DE filter polishes it out. Pentair describes its DE grids as shaped to trap more dirt and go longer between cleanings.

The trade-off is maintenance. DE filters are cleaned by backwashing when the pressure climbs about 10 psi over the clean starting pressure, then recharged with fresh DE powder, and they need a full grid cleaning once or twice a season. We show you how at startup, and our pool service can take it over. If you would rather have a cartridge filter, which you clean by hosing off the cartridges, we can spec one instead.

Size, mostly. Pentair calls the MicroBrite one of the most compact LED pool lights made, just 3.5 inches long. It needs no traditional light niche. It fits a standard 1.5 inch pool wall fitting and can be installed in water as shallow as 4 inches. That matters on a fiberglass pool, where the shell has steps, benches, tanning ledges and swim-outs molded in. A small light can go in those places, so you can light the steps and the ledge instead of just the deep end.

They are 12 volt LED lights, so they use far less power than old incandescent pool lights and last longer. They cycle through color shows as well as white. And Pentair says they connect to any Pentair automation system, so if you add automation later, the lights come along without being replaced.

Pool lighting is also a safety feature. A lit pool shows its steps and edges after dark, which matters for kids and guests during summer evenings, when it stays light late but the pool deck gets dim quickly.

Equipment from the same maker is designed to work together. A Pentair pump, lights, heater, sanitizer and automation system can talk to one another, so one control can schedule the pump, bump its speed when the heater fires, turn on the lights and run the salt cell. Pentair's IntelliConnect system, for example, is built to control a single pool's pumps, sanitizers, heaters and lighting from the Pentair Pool app.

It also keeps service simpler. When your equipment pad uses one family of parts, the person working on it knows how the pieces interact. That applies whether it is our service crew or someone else years from now. And when you want to add something, such as a heater in year two or automation in year five, you are adding to a system that was planned for it rather than working around a mix of brands with different controls.

The package covers everything a fiberglass pool needs to run. These are the most common additions, each priced from the design.

Heaters. In Northeast Ohio a pool is comfortable on its own from roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day. A heater adds weeks at both ends, which is why one comes with every package. The pump has to run fast enough to give the heater its minimum flow, which automation handles automatically.

Covers. An automatic cover keeps heat in overnight, keeps leaves and pollen out and adds a layer of safety. A safety cover is the simpler option for winter.

Automation and smart controls. Schedule and control the pump, lights, heater and features from your phone, and let the system coordinate them.

Salt systems. A salt chlorine generator makes chlorine from dissolved salt, so you handle fewer chlorine products. It still needs pH attention.

Spas and water features. Spillover spas, sheer descents, bubblers and waterfalls need their own flow and often their own pump. We size the plumbing and equipment for them in the design, even if you add them later.

Filtration choice. DE is standard. Cartridge is available if you prefer it.

Where the equipment sits matters almost as much as what it is. We place the pad on a solid base, out of the path of roof runoff and snow sliding off the house, with room to service every piece and clearance around the heater. We keep it reasonably close to the pool, because long pipe runs cost pump energy, but far enough from bedroom windows and neighbors that even a quiet pump is not a nuisance. The pad location, the pipe routes and the electrical run from your panel all show up in the 3D design before we dig.

Plumbing sizing is part of the equipment decision. Generous pipe sizes and a well-sized filter let a variable-speed pump do its job at lower speeds, which is where the savings are. It is an invisible choice that pays you back every month the pool is open.

Pool equipment in Northeast Ohio spends about half the year shut down, and that half is harder on it than the swim season. Water left in a pump housing, filter tank, heater or pipe will freeze on the first hard night and can crack whatever holds it. So the equipment is designed to drain. The pump and filter have drain plugs, the lines are blown out with air and plugged at the pool end, and the heater is drained according to its manual.

We place the pad so it drains well and does not sit in a puddle of spring meltwater, and we keep electrical connections up off the base. Some owners like a simple cover over the pad for winter to keep snow and ice off the controls. Whatever the setup, the most important winter protection is a proper closing, done before the first freeze, not after it. If you use our closing service, we handle it and note anything that needs attention before spring.

Spring opening is the reverse: plugs back in, equipment checked, pump primed, filter charged, lights tested and the pump schedule reset for cool water and heavy pollen.

At startup we fill the pool, start the equipment, set the pump schedule, check the lights and walk you through the filter gauge, the baskets and your chemicals. Many owners take it from there. Others use our pool service for openings, weekly cleaning and water care, equipment checks, repairs and closings. In an Ohio winter, a proper closing protects the pump, filter and heater from freezing, so that is the one job we would encourage every owner to take seriously.