AquaCal Pool Heaters
Review and Buying Guide

Explore one of the top brands of swimming pool heaters - AquaCal. Being in the business from 1981, the company became one of the leading manufacturers of swimming pool heat pumps in America and Canada.

AquaCal heat pumps are available in several sizes and capacities, from the small residential to large commercial ones, made for the above and inground pools. While other companies offer various types of pool heaters, the AquaCal offers only heat pumps, both conventional - widely used, and geothermal type.

The conventional type is the one that moves the warm air from surrounding to the pool water and is known as the air-to-water heat pumps.

Those devices that transfer the heat from the surface, underground water, or land to your pool are called geothermal heat pumps. This is how these heat pumps provide significant benefits to the users - low operating costs with free energy usage (renewable) and low energy consumption.

Model selection

Air-to-water type

Heatwave SuperQuiet series

The best-selling AquaCal heat pumps are coming from the Heatwave SuperQuiet series. Designed in five sizes, these heat pumps are built explicitly for residential applications, heating and cooling pool water in any weather conditions.

A model SQ145 comes with the highest Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 6.8, while the model SQ225 with the most BTU - 143,000. The water flow is the same on all models - 30 GPM at a minimum and 70 GPM at its maximum.

The greatest advantage of the Heatwave models is its core element; the ThermoLink heat exchanger made of titanium, high performing and resistant to temperature shocks and chemical compounds found in swimming water. A patented water management system allows better performance due to improved surface contact between the heat exchanger and surrounding water. It has a limited lifetime warranty.

As with other advanced heat pumps, the AquaCal model is equipped with an efficient and heavy-duty scroll compressor to achieve higher pressure due to the reduced high-stress situations. The advantage over the reciprocating compressor is up to 25% better efficiency and up to 60% less noise.

The control panel with the built-in microprocessor and digital thermostat followed by the large LED display, and water-resistant keypads allow easy setup, control and monitoring, and self-diagnostics if unpredictable problems occur.

Some of the HeatWave SuperQuiet heat pumps are available as the ICEBREAKER models for heating and cooling the pool and can operate even at lower temperatures due to the defrost system.

TropiCal series

AquaCal heat pumps from the TropiCal series are designed more for budget-oriented families. With five models available, you can choose between models with the quality titanium heat exchanger known as Thermolink (T90, T115, and T135) or tube-in-tube type, which is found on the other two models. The highest COP is found on the T90 model, while the T135 has the highest BTU power. Also, models T90, T115, and T135 have the same water flow as the above HeatWave SuperQuiet heat pumps 30/70, while others have a lower; minimum/maximum 20/45 GPM.

The above series is also available at 50 Hz.

You might also want to check: Raypak and Hayward pool heaters

Geothermal type

Water Source series

Water Source is the AquaCal geothermal heat pump that, like others, utilizes the heat from the surface water such as lakes, rivers, ponds, or underground water, for heating the pool water. Several models are available with the titanium (ThermoLink) and cupronickel heat exchanger, utilizing the advanced scroll compressor for better efficiency and quiet operation. The model WS10-TT is the most powerful unit with the power of 213,000 BTUs, while its smallest WS03-TT has the highest COP value of 6.6. These models are also operating with the frequency of 50 and 60Hz.

Proper sizing is vital so the AquaCal heat pumps can provide all the comfort and energy savings you would expect. The heat pumps heat the pool with less energy consumed than the gas type, are environment-friendly, and very quiet compared to the competition. According to the AquaCal manufacturer, heat pumps can save you between 50% and 80% compared to gas type and much more than the electric resistance heaters.

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