A draft of the Department of Energy’s pool pump regulation should be released soon for public comment. Meant to set energy-efficiency minimums, the rule will be mandatory for residential inground pool pumps to be sold in the U.S. Current language would require pool pumps of 0.711 hydraulic horsepower (about 1 total horsepower) or higher to be variable-speed. Those under the threshold or used for aboveground pools, and pressure cleaner booster pumps will need to be energy-efficient single-speed. Not affected: pumps more than 2.5 hydraulic horsepower (about 5 total hp), and so-called waterfall pumps with a maximum operating speed of about 1,750 rpm. Very small, inflatable aboveground pools will only need a timer. Pump manufacturers contributed to the drafting, and APSP supports the current version. With approval from the DOE Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee, the regulation will be drafted in proper code language and released for public comment.
