imPower – Ultra Efficient Pool and Spa Pumps

Pool and spa pumps are a significant contributor to CO₂ emissions from residential homes. The addition of a pool and subsequent pool pump can increase the average homes energy consumption by up to 30%¹. A new multispeed motor developed by Fasco Australia, imPower™, has the ability to reduce running costs, energy consumption and greenhouse emissions.

The "imPower" technology developed by Fasco has its origins in the motor developed for use in the Australian solar car "Desert Rose" from Charles Darwin University. Designed to be ultra efficient, the motor collected numerous awards including the prestigious General Motors award for Technical Innovation won in the 1993 World Solar Challenge. The motor was subsequently redesigned and used in the Avanti "Electra" electric bicycle and now as the "imPower" pool and spa motor.

The mathematics for pool pump systems is simple, if you ½ the motor and pump speed the power reduces by 8 times. Typically pool pumps operate for 8 hours per day and cost in the order of $600 per year. With the new multispeed imPower motor the pool owner can save up to $430/year and 2.3 tonne of CO₂.

An additional benefit of multispeed pool and spa pumps is a significant reduction in noise. Typically the noise from pool pumps is dominated by water noise in the pump. By slowing the motor and pump speed the hydraulic noise from the pump is significantly reduced.

The imPower motor is currently available on the Viron P300 pump available through Astral Pools. See http://www.astralpool.com.au/Viron.htm for further details.

¹ A.B Sproul - Design of PV Powered, High Efficiency Pool Pump Systems. ANZSES Conference "Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future", Dunedin, Nov. 2005