About Pool Heater Calculator — Neutral BTU Sizing
Who runs Pool Heater Calculator, why it is heater-brand neutral, where every formula and correction factor comes from, and how images are credited.
Why this site exists
Pool heater shopping has a measurement problem: every brand's own calculator runs the math for its own product line, so the "recommended size" from one brand isn't comparable to another's. This site is deliberately brand-neutral — the same published physics applies to every heater, and we show the work so you can compare.
InferredHow the numbers are produced
- One formula, one source of truth. The BTU sizing rule (surface area × temperature rise × 12), the heat-up physics (gallons × 8.34 × rise ÷ output), and every correction factor live in a single module of this site's code. The calculators, the homepage quick table and the machine-readable summary for AI crawlers are all generated from that one module — there is no second place where the math could drift.
- Every constant has a source and a date. The 82% gas efficiency floor comes from federal regulation 10 CFR 430.32; the cover evaporation range comes from DOE guidance (via EPA WaterSense); the ×12 sizing convention is the industry's standard rule of thumb, double-sourced. Each figure on a page carries a footnote-level source tag with its verification date.
- Honest uncertainty. Where a value is an editable default rather than a measured fact — fuel prices, for example — the page says so in place. Nothing on this site is invented to sound authoritative.
What this site is not
Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any pool heater manufacturer. Calculator results are estimates for information only — real sizing also depends on your gas line, electrical service and climate, and the manufacturer datasheet for the exact model you buy always wins.
Image credits
Pool photography on this site is used under Creative Commons licenses with attribution:
- Hero photo: Vic Brincat, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- Residential pool photos: Infrogmation, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Contact
Questions, corrections or source disputes are welcome — see the contact page. If you believe a figure here contradicts its cited source, that is exactly the report we want.
Related pages
