In short
Run it in the cheapest hours your plan has, and choose the plan with that in mind. A pool pump is one of the largest loads in a South East Queensland home and one of the few that can run at any time, so it belongs in the middle of the day on solar or on a Solar Sharer plan's free window, overnight on a time-of-use off-peak rate, or on a controlled load on Tariff 33. A variable-speed pump on a timer cuts the electricity it uses in the first place.
Why the pump is the load to move
A pool pump runs for hours every day through the warm months, and it does not care when. That makes it the perfect load for a tariff that is cheap at some hours and dear at others, and the worst load to leave on a default timer that runs it through the evening peak.
Four ways to run it cheaply
| On your own solar | Cheapest of all if you have panels: the pump runs on electricity that would otherwise earn only the feed-in credit. Set the timer for the middle of the day. |
|---|---|
| In the Solar Sharer window | Three free hours between 11am and 2pm on a Solar Sharer plan cover most of a daily filtration cycle. Needs a smart meter. The rest of the bill is dearer, so price it. See the Solar Sharer Offer explained. |
| Overnight, off-peak | On a time-of-use plan the overnight rate is the cheapest grid electricity there is. Noise for the neighbours is the only catch. |
| On a controlled load | Tariff 33 supplies at least eighteen hours a day at a rate between the controlled and general rates, on a separate circuit an electrician wires. Suits a home without solar or a smart meter. See Tariff 31 and 33 explained. |
Use less in the first place
- A variable-speed pump run slowly for longer filters the same water for a fraction of the electricity of a single-speed pump run fast for less time.
- Run time should follow the season: a winter pool needs far fewer hours than a summer one.
- Clean the filter and the skimmer basket; a clogged filter makes the pump work harder for the same flow.
The plan that makes the pump cheapest is not always the plan that makes the whole house cheapest, which is why the comparison should be on everything at once. The paid check prices every plan on your whole usage and says what moving the pump would be worth on each.
Quick answers
What time of day should I run my pool pump in Queensland?
In the middle of the day if you have solar or a Solar Sharer plan, overnight if you are on a time-of-use plan with an off-peak rate, and whenever the controlled load is energised if the pump is on Tariff 33. Never through the late afternoon and evening on a time-of-use or demand plan, which is when electricity costs the most.
Can a pool pump go on a controlled load in Queensland?
Yes. A pool pump is one of the loads Energex allows on Tariff 33, the economy controlled load that supplies at least eighteen hours a day at a lower rate. An electrician wires it to the controlled-load circuit, and the plan you choose must publish a rate for Tariff 33 for it to be priced.
Sources
Official pages this answer relies on. If one of them changes, tell us and we will update the page.
- Residential electricity tariffs · Energex
- Solar Sharer Offer · Australian Government, energy.gov.au
- Energy Made Easy · Australian Energy Regulator