Customers Experiencing DOE Pump Regulation Issues Well Before Anticipated

Customers Experiencing DOE Pump Regulation Issues Well Before Anticipated

We thought we would have more time.

When the Department of Energy (DOE) Dedicated Pool Pump (DPP) Regulations went into effect on July 19, 2021, many thought that it would be a long time before customers would be forced into compliance. As an oversimplification, the DPP Regulation requires that ALL pumps, normally between 1 and 5 horsepower, must either meet very stringent efficiency guidelines (we haven’t seen one comply yet), or must be connected to a variable frequency drive (VFD). For a more complex explanation of the stringent efficiency guidelines, you need to examine the WEF (Weighted Energy Factor) and HHP (Hydraulic Horsepower) etc. Have your eyes glassed over yet? 

The regulations put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the manufacturers, who won’t be able to manufacture OR import pumps and motors that do not comply with the regulations. So we all thought that the manufacturers would stockpile pumps and inventory, and it might be months or years for customers to feel the effect of the regulation. But then the Texas freeze happened (taking out thousands of pool pumps), and Covid happened (slowing the rate of manufacturing and importing pumps, period), then the hoarding began. The supply chain is so stressed right now that it is almost impossible to find some sizes of pumps to provide to customers… especially a pump that can’t be imported or manufactured.

So, when some customers recently lost their pool pumps, they went to replace them with a “like for like” solution, as they’ve done for years, and… there were none. This meant that their pools were down, and by law the pool had to be closed to patrons. 

What is the solution? Actually there are several. You can either replace your pump proactively with a drive-on-pump alternative (like the Jandy VS FloPro or Pentair Intelliflo)…. OR you can add a separate VFD to a new 3-phase pump or existing pump with a new 3 phase motor. We have found the latter as a more industrial-grade solution, and the VFDs are more robust and reliable, and a lot less problematic.  

We have installed many hundreds of the latter over the years using our Motor Controls-VFDs (MCC-VFD) and PFDx lines, as customers have been experiencing great energy savings, sometimes running pumps as low as 12% of normal power, while maintaining DOH-required flows. These customers made these conversions well before being forced to comply with some complicated Federal Regulation.

Conversion is simple and affordable, BUT, you need to assure that the new pump is RATED to provide the same flow as required on your DOH pool permit (per the original plans), and the pumps need to be installed by a qualified, licensed company. Our program assures 100% satisfaction with no risk. 

Now due to the DPP regulations, many customers are taking a PROACTIVE approach, which results in a LOT fewer issues and less drama. How does this work? They are pre-planning the energy conversion, and not waiting for their pumps to fail. Your CES rep will provide a quick no-cost evaluation of the pool pump, your DOH requirements, and will provide you with short and long-tern budget numbers for your DOE-compliant upgrade. We will also provide both an outright conversion cost including any required re-piping, and will provide a monthly cost in case you decide you want the conversion to “pay its own way out of savings.”  

Once they have seen the verifiable savings, customers often opt to convert proactively and enjoy the savings sooner rather than later. The conversion will also take DIRECT CONTROL of flow and will maintain the EXACT DOH FLOW 24/7/365, providing exponential savings as most pool pumps are oversized by DOH design. 

Contact your CES rep to arrange your evaluation, and please let us know if we can provide any additional information.

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