Pool Heater Installation in PA, NJ, DE & Northern Virginia

The right heater depends on what you want out of the season. We install Pentair gas heaters and heat pumps, and we run the gas line and the electrical ourselves.

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Almost every homeowner asks us the same question, and it is the right one to ask: gas or heat pump? The honest answer depends on what you want the pool to do for you.

In our area, the rule we give people is simple. If you want to extend the season, so you can swim early in the spring and late into the fall, go with gas heat. If you just want to hold a comfortable temperature during the regular season, a heat pump is the better buy. That one distinction decides it for most backyards.

Gas Heat Is How You Extend the Season

Gas is the answer when you want to stretch the calendar. A gas heater does not care what the air temperature is doing. It fires on demand and brings the water up quickly, which is exactly what you need in April and October when a heat pump starts to lose ground.

That speed also changes how you use the pool. You can heat it for a weekend, let it drift back down during the week, and heat it again on Friday. Gas runs on natural gas or propane, and it is what we reach for on spas, where you want hot water in under an hour instead of waiting overnight.

A Heat Pump Holds Temperature for Less

If your goal is a comfortable pool from Memorial Day through Labor Day, a heat pump is the smarter spend. It does not burn fuel to make heat. It moves warmth out of the outside air into your water, so it costs meaningfully less to run than gas over a full season.

The trade off is speed and weather. A heat pump warms a pool gradually over a day or two rather than in an afternoon, and it gets less efficient as the air cools. That is why we describe it as a tool for maintaining your season rather than extending it. For a lot of families, that is all they actually need.

Which One Belongs in Your Backyard

This is the conversation we have standing in your backyard, and it usually takes about two minutes.

If you want to swim in April and October, you want gas. Nothing else keeps up once the air turns cold. If you want a comfortable pool all summer and nothing more than that, take the heat pump and the lower running cost, because speed stops mattering once you are only holding a temperature you already reached.

A spa changes the answer. Spas need heat quickly, and nobody wants to plan a soak two days out, so that means gas, or gas working alongside a heat pump. If you want the season and the savings both, Pentair makes a hybrid that puts a heat pump and a gas heater in the same cabinet and lets you pick the mode. It costs more up front, and it is worth asking about.

Whichever way you go, an automatic safety cover does more for your heating bill than any other single thing you can add. An uncovered pool loses most of its heat overnight straight off the surface. Covering it keeps the heat you already paid for.

One Crew Runs the Gas and the Electrical

A heater is only as good as what feeds it. A gas heater needs a properly sized gas line from the meter or the tank, and undersized line is the single most common reason a heater underperforms. A heat pump needs its own electrical circuit run to the pad.

We do both in house, permitted and to code. That matters more than it sounds. You are not scheduling a plumber, then an electrician, then waiting on us to come back and tie it together. One crew, one schedule, one company responsible when something needs a second look.

We equip our pools with Pentair. Their gas heaters and heat pumps share the same controls and the same parts network, which keeps service simple years down the road.

Equipment We Install

All indicated Pentair trademarks and logos are property of Pentair. Coverstar is a trademark of Latham Pool Products, Inc. All other brand names and logos are the property of their respective owners. Hydroscape Pools & Landscape Construction is an independent contractor and is not an agent of, or affiliated with, these manufacturers.

Proudly Providing Services Throughout the Mid-Atlantic United States

From building a brand-new pool to keeping an older one in great shape, we offer a full range of pool and outdoor living services across the Mid-Atlantic. One team handles all of it, start to finish.

Inground Pool Design & Installation

Custom inground pools built in fiberglass or concrete, designed around your yard and how your family wants to use it. We handle the design, the permits, and the full build with our own crew.

Spa/Hot Tub

Inground spas, spillover spas built right into your pool, and standalone hot tubs, with the jets, heating, and controls to match.

Pool Renovation

Is your older pool looking tired? We handle resurfacing, new tile and coping, deck updates, and equipment upgrades to bring it back to life.

Pool Heating

Gas heat to stretch your season into April and October, or a heat pump to hold temperature through the summer for less money to run. We install Pentair, and we run the gas line and the electrical ourselves.

Pool Automation & Smart Controls

Pentair IntelliCenter, standard on every pool and spa combination we build. Start the spa, run the lights and check the pump from your phone instead of walking out to the pad in the dark.

Pool Water Features

Natural stone waterfalls and waterfall and slide combinations from Advanced Waterfall Systems, plus spillover spas and bubblers on a tanning ledge.

Automatic Safety Covers

Coverstar automatic safety covers, built to meet ASTM F1346. One button closes the pool, which is the whole reason an automatic cover actually gets used.

Pool Equipment Repair

Pumps, filters, heaters, salt systems, and automation. We diagnose, repair, and replace the equipment that keeps your pool running right.

Pool Maintenance & Protection

Keep your pool clean, balanced, and ready to swim, with regular care plus seasonal openings and closings handled by our own team.

Landscape & Outdoor Living

Patios, walkways, plantings, and complete outdoor living areas that turn the space around your pool into a backyard you actually want to spend time in.

Outdoor Kitchen Installation

Built-in grills, bars, countertops, and full outdoor kitchens, with the gas and electrical handled in-house.

Pergolas & Shade Structures

Pergolas, pavilions, and shade structures that keep your patio and pool comfortable all summer.

Patio & Hardscape Construction

Patios, pool decks, walkways, retaining walls, and fire features, built to last.

Frequently Asked Questions

Gas Heater or Heat Pump: Which Is Better Here?

It comes down to what you want. In our climate we recommend gas if you are trying to extend the season early and late, because gas heats fast and does not care how cold the air is. If you only want to maintain a comfortable temperature during the regular season, a heat pump does that for less money to run. There is no universal right answer, which is why we ask how you actually plan to use the pool before we quote a heater.

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Pool Heater?

We will not quote you a number on a web page, because it depends on your gas or electric rate, the size of the pool, how warm you keep it, and whether you cover it. What we can tell you honestly is the shape of it: a heat pump costs less per hour of heating than gas, and gas costs less if you are only heating occasionally for a weekend rather than holding temperature all season. A cover changes the math more than the heater choice does. We will size the unit and walk you through the running cost for your specific pool before you commit.

How Fast Will a Heater Warm My Pool?

A properly sized gas heater works in hours. A heat pump works over a day or two. That gap is the whole reason the two exist. If you want to decide on Thursday that you are swimming Saturday, you want gas. If you set a temperature in June and leave it there, the heat pump gets you to the same place for less.

Can One Heater Do Both the Pool and the Spa?

Yes, and that is the normal setup on a pool and spa combination. Valves direct the flow so you can heat the spa on its own without heating the whole pool, which is what you want, because heating a spa to 102 takes minutes and heating a pool to 102 is not a thing anyone wants to pay for. On a combo we pair the heater with Pentair IntelliCenter so you can start the spa from your phone on the drive home.

Do You Run the Gas Line, or Do I Need My Own Plumber?

We run it. Gas and electrical are both in house here, permitted and inspected. You are not hiring a separate gas contractor or electrician on top of us, and you are not the one coordinating who shows up when.

Can You Add a Heater to a Pool You Did Not Build?

Yes. We add heaters to existing pools regularly. We will look at your current pad, your gas or electrical service, and the equipment already there, then tell you what it takes. If the rest of the equipment is aging, we will say so rather than bolting a new heater onto a system that is about to need work anyway. See pool equipment repair and service.

Want to Talk Through Gas vs Heat Pump?

Tell us how you want to use the pool and we will tell you which heater fits, what it costs to install, and what it costs to run. No pressure either way.