We're looking at building a pool and looking for some help making a decision on heating and/or attached spa. We have a free standing spa that we use multiple times per week. Location is DFW.

1. Does it make sense to add a heater to the pool?
2. Does it make sense to add an attached spa?

Raised in Dallas, swimming family here w/HS captains, Aggie Waterpolo guys
Wife & I lifeguards/WSI and always caring for a pool somewhere.
Ergo why we don't have a pool now (+ college for 4 expenses).

Dallas can have a short swim season all righty but that's when kids are in school/sports/homework/etc. so better have pool square ends for an adult lap swimmer to demand heat, me thinks and your town should have more public lap swim times than mine/Aggieland.

If heat is justified, then Solar has done this for decades in Dallas, that began with black bladders topping garage roof shingles. Add to that gas heat if needed. Am not thinking heating Dec-March ....

If already doing self-maintenance, judge how much more the heating portion will add to that time/expense and if you can jettison the heat if it falls out of favor/use later on.

SPAs come with many stories, some tired of them after 2-3 years, others got too old/cardiac to use them, others a regulars and even got a prescription/tax credit for his, as I read on this forum recently. You might search that thread. As for me, IF we added one, it would be as portable & saleable as a boat & fully automatic, able to drain it EZ ala Mexican resort pools.

Let us know and brag a little later?

Thanks for the feedback. I went and read several older threads. A couple of things we are considering:
- we will need ~240 feet run to connect natural gas to heater.
- if we went with a heat pump, electrical will already be near. My understanding is there is a chiller/heat pump combo.

I grew up in South DFW with a pool/spa both heated. The spa is nice to have, we used it frequently in the cooler months.

We heated the pool once in January and dad about had a heart attack when he got the bill. I think the nice feature a pool heater offers is when combined with a solar cover, giving it the last few degrees to kickstart it in the spring to open the pool a few weeks earlier / keeping it open a few weeks later than you otherwise would.

I personally enjoy detached/stand alone spas better than the built in/attached ones.
Better/more jets, power, etc.

AW 1880 said:

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Thanks for the feedback. I went and read several older threads. A couple of things we are considering:
- we will need ~240 feet run to connect natural gas to heater.
- if we went with a heat pump, electrical will already be near. My understanding is there is a chiller/heat pump combo.

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Heat pumps are good, but they can't heat if the ambient air temperature is below 50 degrees.

Similar to others, we can heat both pool and spa. We've only heated the pool a couple of times. It has to be for a big event/party and takes a full day to do so.

The spa on the other hand, we use all the time. My kids and friends were in it just yesterday. If we were building, we'd absolutely be adding a spa and heater.

We had our pool with attached spa built about 10 years ago. ( Mobley in College Station) Spa overflows into the pool and makes the best "waterfall" noise. We can heat both pool or spa with propane gas. We heat spa about once a week in the winter. When pool is chilly in spring and fall well heat it for an hour or 2 to raise the temperature 5-8 degrees. We've never tried to heat it when it's winter. We Love our pool and would do everything the same if we needed to.

If it is in the budget I'd definitely add the heater. We haven't used our hot tub as much the last couple of years but one of my 24 resolutions is to rectify that laziness.

I sometimes heat the pull as late as June (DFW) if it is a few degrees shy of what we consider comfortable. I've heated the pool as late as the 1st week of November for a final swim before winter before the water temp is low enough that it could cost a lot to heat.

FTR - I haven't done a cost analysis to heat the pool in the winter.

Have both in North Dallas. Love it, sound and all. Also, when the winter storms come through having freeze guard and a heater will save your ass.

We had a heater on a spa/pool in our old house and after it was a couple years old every time we wanted to use it ended up with me out there at night freezing trying to get it to work.

If you already have the stand-alone spa, I'd build a pool without a spa and not include a heater.
However, if you add a spa, get rid of your stand-alone and get heat. If your pool gets full sun, get a heat/chill heat pump. You will use the chilling more in the summer than you will use the heat in the winter.

agnerd said:

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If you already have the stand-alone spa, I'd build a pool without a spa and not include a heater.
However, if you add a spa, get rid of your stand-alone and get heat. If your pool gets full sun, get a heat/chill heat pump. You will use the chilling more in the summer than you will use the heat in the winter.

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This is the way.