Heat pumps for above-ground pools
Small enough to plug into a wall socket, slow enough that the manufacturer says so. What an above-ground heat pump really does, and which sizes are honest.
Quick picks
Ranked on published output, on the electrical supply they need, and on what the maker will commit to in writing. Prices and photographs come from the live retail listing.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Best overall FibroPool FH255 55,000 BTU Pool Heat Pump 55,000 BTU/hr and a published COP of 5.92 — the only unit here whose efficiency figure comes from an established brand. | A smaller pool where a full-size heat pump is more machine than the water needs | |
| 2 |  Best mid-size TURBRO Beluga B33V 33,000 BTU Inverter Pool Heat Pump 33,000 BTU inverter with a 5-year compressor warranty. Ignore the 'up to 15.8' COP claim on the listing. | An above-ground pool of 6,000 to 10,000 gallons with a 240V supply | |
| 3 |  Best plug-in TURBRO Manatee M18 18,000 BTU Above-Ground Pool Heat Pump 18,000 BTU on a standard 110V GFCI outlet, titanium exchanger, and a maker who admits it takes days. | An above-ground pool up to about 6,000 gallons, with no 240V circuit available | |
| 4 | No photo The established-brand small option Hayward HeatPro 50 Above-Ground Pool Heat Pump Hayward's above-ground HeatPro. Dealer distribution rather than a shopping-cart purchase, which is why there is no live price. | A permanent above-ground pool, when you want an established brand at the small size | |
| 5 |  Buy this first, without exception Sun2Solar 1600 Series Ultimate Blue Solar Cover An 18,000 BTU heat pump cannot outrun an uncovered pool's overnight loss. With a cover it can. | An inground pool you cover most nights, every season |
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked October 17, 2026.
Why this is a different purchase from a full-size heat pump
Our main heat pump roundup ranks 140,000 BTU machines that hardwire to a 240V circuit and sit on a concrete pad. That is the right answer for a 20,000-gallon inground pool and completely wrong for a 7,000-gallon above-ground one, where it costs more than the pool.
The above-ground category solves three different problems at once: a much smaller heat requirement, an owner who often has no 240V circuit within reach, and a pool with hose fittings rather than 2 inch plumbing. The units below are built around those three constraints, and the compromises they make are the whole subject of this page.
How we judged these
Published output in BTU/hr, which for heat pumps is heat delivered rather than fuel burned. Electrical supply, because a 110V plug-in unit avoids an electrician and a 240V one does not. Heat exchanger material, since titanium keeps a salt pool on the table. Warranty terms, and specifically the compressor term rather than the machine term. And whether the maker publishes a COP you can believe.
The arithmetic that sets expectations
A heat pump’s job is measured in BTU, and small heat pumps have few of them. Here is how long each of these takes to lift the pool it is rated for by ten degrees, ignoring the heat the pool loses while it works.
| Heat pump | Output | Pool it is rated for | Energy needed | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TURBRO Manatee M18 | 18,000 BTU/hr | 6,000 gal | 499,800 BTU | About 28 |
| TURBRO Beluga B33V | 33,000 BTU/hr | 10,000 gal | 833,000 BTU | About 25 |
| FibroPool FH255 | 55,000 BTU/hr | 10,000 gal | 833,000 BTU | About 15 |
| Hayward HeatPro 140 (for scale) | 140,000 BTU/hr | 20,000 gal | 1,666,000 BTU | About 12 |
Gallons x 8.33 x 10°F, divided by output. Real heat-ups take longer because the pool is losing heat the whole time — which is why every row on this page assumes a cover.
110V or 240V, and why it decides the budget
The M18 plugs into a standard outdoor GFCI outlet. Everything else here wants 240V on its own circuit. On an above-ground pool that difference is frequently larger than the difference between the heat pumps: running a new 240V circuit to the far corner of a yard is an electrician’s day, and on a pool that cost under two thousand dollars it can be the single biggest line item.
The trade is real. 110V caps the unit at roughly 18,000 BTU/hr, which is the slowest column in the table above. If you already have 240V near the pump, take it and buy the bigger machine.
The COP claims, and which ones to believe
A coefficient of performance is heat delivered divided by electricity drawn. Established brands publish figures between about 5.0 and 5.9 at warm test conditions. Import listings in this category regularly print numbers three times that.
| Unit | Claimed COP | Our reading |
|---|---|---|
| FibroPool FH255 | 5.92 | Credible. In the range established brands publish, though no test condition is stated. |
| TURBRO Manatee M18 | 5.5 | Credible. Same range, again with no conditions published. |
| TURBRO Beluga B33V | Up to 15.8, cited to AHRI 1160 | Not comparable. An inverter's COP climbs steeply as it throttles down, so 'up to' describes it loafing, not heating. The full-load figure is unpublished. |
| Hayward HeatPro 50 | Not published | Hayward states no COP on this model, which is the category norm and not a mark against it. |
A COP without a stated air temperature is close to meaningless, because the number falls as the air cools — exactly when you want the heat. Our AquaCal review covers the one brand that publishes the condition.
The B33V above is an inverter, and that is a tier rather than a feature. Our inverter comparison sets out where modulation earns its premium and where you are paying for a part-load benefit you will never reach.
What to skip
- Any unit sold for an inflatable pool. TURBRO explicitly says the B33V is not recommended for them, because the pool’s pump cannot generate the water pressure the exchanger needs. Listings that do not mention this are not being careful.
- Electric resistance heaters. They plug in too, and they cost about five times as much to run as any heat pump here. Our electric pool heater guide explains how to tell the two machines apart on a listing, because the listings do not make it easy.
- A full-size heat pump on a small pool. The 140,000 BTU units are not a better version of these; they are a different purchase with a different install.
The order to spend in
Cover first, always, and on this page it is not a slogan. An 18,000 BTU/hr heat pump delivers 432,000 BTU across a full day. An uncovered 20,000-gallon pool can lose more than that overnight. On a 6,000-gallon above-ground pool the numbers are kinder, but the principle holds: the cover decides whether the heat pump is climbing or running to stand still. Our page on heaters for above-ground pools generally sets heat pumps against solar mats and panels for the same pool.
Every pick, in detail
What each one publishes, what is good and bad about it, and — the section this category usually omits — what we could not judge without owning one.
FibroPool FH255 55,000 BTU Pool Heat Pump
The heat pump worth looking at when a full-size one is more machine than the pool needs. FibroPool publishes 55,000 BTU/hr of output and a rated COP of 5.92, which is above the 5.0 we assume for heat pumps generally — so on the pool sizes the manufacturer actually names, the running cost lands below the category figure. The catch is the other side of the same number: 55,000 BTU/hr is not much heat, and on a pool larger than FibroPool lists it will run all day and never catch up.
Best for A smaller pool where a full-size heat pump is more machine than the water needs
| Rated output | 55,000 BTU/hrPublished as OUTPUT, which is the heat-pump convention. It is not comparable with a gas heater's input rating. | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| Pool sizes the manufacturer names | Above-ground up to 21 ft round or 15 x 30 ft oval; inground up to 10,000 gallons | Manufacturer |
| Supply | 240 V | Manufacturer |
| Rated COP | 5.92FibroPool words this as 5.92 times the heat for every dollar of electricity. The conditions it was rated under are not published, and a heat pump's COP falls as the air cools, so read it as a best case rather than a season average. | Manufacturer |
| Cost per million BTU delivered | About $9.08 at the published COPUS average residential electricity at 18.34 cents/kWh (EIA, June 2026) divided by the published COP of 5.92. At the more conservative COP of 5.0 we use across the site it comes out at about $10.75. | Our arithmetic |
- A published COP of 5.92, above the 5.0 we assume for the category
- All electric — no gas line, no flue, no combustion air to arrange
- Sized and priced for pools that a full-size heat pump is wasted on
- 55,000 BTU/hr is modest: about 30 hours to lift 20,000 gallons ten degrees
- Wants a dedicated 240 V circuit, which is an electrician's visit if you do not have one
- Like every heat pump, it fades as the air cools — the shoulder season you bought it for
- The COP this unit reaches at your air temperature and humidity
- Compressor and control-board life, which decides whether a cheaper heat pump is a bargain
- How loud it is at the distance your deck actually sits from it
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked October 17, 2026.
TURBRO Beluga B33V 33,000 BTU Inverter Pool Heat Pump
The step up: 33,000 BTU/hr, a DC inverter compressor, WiFi, and a 5-year compressor warranty against the 2 years on the machine. It is the most capable above-ground heat pump we found at anything like this money. It is also where the COP claim gets silly — the listing says 'up to 15.8', which is a part-load inverter figure and not comparable with the 5.0 to 5.9 the US brands publish at full load. Buy it for the 33,000 BTU and the warranty, not for the 15.8.
Best for An above-ground pool of 6,000 to 10,000 gallons with a 240V supply
| Rated output | 33,000 BTU/hr | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| Claimed COP | Up to 15.8, cited to AHRI Standard 1160 (I-P)An inverter's COP rises steeply as it throttles down, so an 'up to' figure describes the machine loafing, not the machine heating your pool from cold. The full-load number is what matters and TURBRO does not publish it. Treat 15.8 as incomparable with the 5.0-5.9 the established brands quote. | Manufacturer |
| Heat exchanger | Titanium | Manufacturer |
| Compressor | Full DC inverter | Manufacturer |
| Pool size the maker names | Up to 10,000 gallons — round to 20 ft, rectangular to 12 x 24 ftTURBRO explicitly says it is not recommended for inflatable pools, because of low water pressure. | Manufacturer |
| Operating range | 46-104°F water, in 5-109°F air | Manufacturer |
| Control | WiFi app and programmable timer | Manufacturer |
| Warranty | 2-year full machine, 5-year compressorThe compressor term is the meaningful one, and 5 years is competitive with the established brands. | Manufacturer |
- 33,000 BTU/hr is enough to actually hold temperature on a 10,000-gallon pool
- 5-year compressor warranty, which is the part that fails
- Inverter control means it modulates instead of cycling on and off
- The 'up to 15.8' COP claim is not comparable with any figure on this site
- Needs 240V, which removes the plug-in advantage of the smaller model
- Not recommended by TURBRO for inflatable pools
- Full-load COP, which the maker does not publish
- Inverter board reliability outdoors over several seasons
- How the WiFi control behaves if the app is discontinued
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked October 17, 2026.
TURBRO Manatee M18 18,000 BTU Above-Ground Pool Heat Pump
The plug-in heat pump, and the honest version of that category. It runs on a normal 110-120V GFCI outlet, carries a titanium exchanger, and TURBRO states a COP of 5.5 — in the same range the established brands publish rather than the impossible numbers import listings often print. It is also the only listing we read that tells you the truth about speed: TURBRO's own note says reaching your target temperature 'may take a few days rather than immediate results'. Believe that note.
Best for An above-ground pool up to about 6,000 gallons, with no 240V circuit available
| Rated output | 18,000 BTU/hrHeat pumps rate by output. 18,000 BTU/hr is about an eighth of a full-size unit. | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| Stated COP | 5.5No test condition is published with it. Read it as a warm-air best case, as with every COP in this category. | Manufacturer |
| Supply | 110-120V, GFCI plug, IPX4The whole point of the unit. No electrician, no dedicated 240V circuit. | Manufacturer |
| Heat exchanger | Titanium | Manufacturer |
| Pool size the maker names | Up to 6,000 gallons — round pools to 16 ft, rectangular to 12 x 20 ft | Manufacturer |
| Operating range | Heats to 59-104°F in ambient air from 41-109.4°F; also cools | Manufacturer |
| Warranty | 2-year full machine | Manufacturer |
| Time to lift 6,000 gallons ten degrees | About 28 hours of run time6,000 x 8.33 x 10 = 499,800 BTU, divided by 18,000 BTU/hr. Ignores the heat the pool loses while heating, so the real figure is longer — which is what TURBRO's 'a few days' note is telling you. | Our arithmetic |
- Plugs into a standard outlet — no electrician, which can be the larger cost on a small pool
- Titanium exchanger at this price, so a salt pool is not ruled out
- The listing states the slow heat-up rather than hiding it
- 18,000 BTU/hr means days, not hours, to reach temperature from cold
- Almost useless without a cover — it cannot outrun overnight evaporation loss
- TURBRO is an import brand with no long service record we could check
- Compressor life, which is the whole question on a budget heat pump
- The COP it actually reaches at 60°F air
- Parts and warranty support in three years' time
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked October 17, 2026.
Hayward HeatPro 50 Above-Ground Pool Heat Pump
Hayward's small heat pump, and the one to compare with the FibroPool FH255 if your pool is a permanent above-ground one you use all season. The listings put it at 45,000 to 50,000 BTU/hr depending on the SKU and rate it for above-ground pools up to about 13,000 gallons. It is the established-brand answer at the size where an import is usually the only option, and you pay a brand premium for that.
Best for A permanent above-ground pool, when you want an established brand at the small size
| Rated output | 45,000 to 50,000 BTU/hr, by SKUListings show the HP50HA at 45,000 BTU and the HP50TA at 50,000. Both are OUTPUT figures. | Retail listing |
|---|---|---|
| Rated pool size | Above-ground pools up to about 13,000 gallonsThe manufacturer publishes no retrievable specification sheet; figure is as listed at retail. | Retail listing |
| Heat exchanger | Titanium | Retail listing |
| Cost per million BTU delivered | About $10.75 at an assumed COP of 5.0US average residential electricity at 18.34 cents/kWh (EIA, June 2026). Hayward does not publish a COP for this unit in the listings we read. | Our arithmetic |
- An established brand at a size the category mostly leaves to imports
- Titanium exchanger as standard
- Sold in horizontal and square fan configurations, which helps with placement
- 45,000 to 50,000 BTU/hr is modest: about 33 hours to lift 20,000 gallons ten degrees
- Priced above the FibroPool FH255 for a similar output
- Needs its own 240 V circuit like every heat pump
- The COP it reaches at your conditions
- Whether the brand premium buys longer compressor life
- How loud it is beside a small deck
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked October 17, 2026.
Sun2Solar 1600 Series Ultimate Blue Solar Cover
The cover to buy if you intend to keep using it in five years. 16 mil is the thickest tier the category sells, and thickness on a solar cover buys durability rather than heat — Bob Vila measured every cover in its hands-on group at the same 4 to 5 degrees, from 12-mil clear to 16-mil blue. Pay the extra for the one that survives being dragged over the coping twice a day, not for a temperature difference that did not show up in the only published one-hour test in this category.
Best for An inground pool you cover most nights, every season
| Price shown for | 24 ft roundThis product is sold in several sizes on one listing. The live price and photograph on this page are the ones Amazon returns for this variant; other sizes are priced separately. | Retail listing |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 16 milThe manufacturer publishes no retrievable specification sheet; figure is as listed at retail. | Retail listing |
| Color | Blue | Retail listing |
| Stated lifespan | 5 to 10 years for the 16-mil tierSwim University's published figure for 16-mil covers generally, not a Sun2Solar warranty statement. | Retail listing |
| Bubble side | Bubbles face the waterCategory-wide instruction, not brand-specific. The bubbles are the insulating layer and they have to touch the water. | Published standard |
4 to 5 degrees F in one hour
Claimed by Bob Vila, measured across all covers in their group. Conditions: One hour under 2pm sun on 89 to 92 degree F days. Source
Their figure was the same for every cover they put on the water. Read our reconciliation of what a one-hour reading actually measures before you plan around this number.
- Thickest tier sold, which is where the durability difference actually is
- Blue absorbs more of the incoming energy at the surface than clear does
- Cuts oversize to your pool shape with household scissors
- Heavy and awkward at 16 mil — a large inground cover is genuinely a two-person job without a reel
- Costs meaningfully more than the 12-mil version for no measured heating advantage
- Whether the seams hold up over five seasons of daily handling
- How the bubble layer survives repeated dragging over rough coping
- Whether the stated lifespan tier holds for this specific product line
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked October 17, 2026.
Questions people actually ask
Can you get a pool heat pump that plugs into a normal outlet?
How long does an above-ground pool heat pump take to heat a pool?
What size heat pump do I need for an above-ground pool?
Is a COP of 15 possible on a pool heat pump?
Do above-ground heat pumps work with saltwater pools?
- Average retail price of electricity to US residential customers: 18.34 cents/kWh, June 2026U.S. Energy Information Administration · read 2026-09-02
- US residential natural gas price: $24.09 per thousand cubic feet, June 2026U.S. Energy Information Administration · read 2026-09-02
- US residential propane price: $2.674 per gallon, week ending 30 March 2026U.S. Energy Information Administration · read 2026-09-02
- Energy content conversion factors: 3,412 BTU per kWh, 1,036 BTU per cubic foot of natural gas, 91,452 BTU per gallon of propaneU.S. Energy Information Administration · read 2026-09-02
- U.S. Department of Energy pool-energy figures (evaporation share, BTU per pound evaporated, cover savings, recommended temperatures, wind effect)Recreonics, reproducing and attributing the U.S. Department of Energy · read 2026-09-02
- Pool heater roundup: the 8.33 BTU per gallon per °F figure, attributed on the page to Alicia Toedter of Leslie'sBob Vila · read 2026-09-02
- TURBRO Manatee M18 listing: 18,000 BTU, stated COP 5.5, titanium heat exchanger, 110-120V GFCI plug, rated for pools to 6,000 gallons, 2-year machine warranty, and the maker's own note that reaching target temperature 'may take a few days rather than immediate results'TURBRO, as listed at retail · read 2026-09-20
- TURBRO Beluga B33V listing: 33,000 BTU full DC inverter, titanium heat exchanger, WiFi, rated for pools to 10,000 gallons, 2-year machine / 5-year compressor warranty, claimed 'COP rating up to 15.8 (AHRI Standard 1160(I-P))', and explicitly not recommended for inflatable poolsTURBRO, as listed at retail · read 2026-09-20
- Hayward W3HP21405T HeatPro listing: 140,000 BTU, titanium heat exchanger, 230V, 33.6 x 30.5 x 44 in, 250 lb, stated as compatible with saltwater poolsHayward, as listed at retail · read 2026-09-20
#ad Where a retailer’s listing is cited above as the source of a published specification, that link is an affiliate link, at no extra cost to you. Independent sources and manufacturer documentation are never wrapped and earn nothing. How this site is funded.
Every URL above was fetched and returned content on the date shown. Where a figure is ours rather than somebody else’s, the arithmetic is on the page and on the methodology page. If you find an error in it, we would genuinely like to know.
Read next
Inverter pool heat pumps
What an inverter actually changes, why 'COP up to 15' is not a number you can use, and the one maker that publishes enough to let you check its own claim.
FibroPool FH255 review
55,000 BTU for pools to 10,000 gallons, a manufacturer-stated COP of 5.92, a titanium exchanger and a stated Limited Lifetime warranty. Plus the honest limit: it is not much heat.
Pool heat pumps worth buying
Full-size and small heat pumps ranked on published output, exchanger material and what the manufacturer will actually say about efficiency. With the sizing math for your pool.
Heaters for above-ground pools
Why a small pool is much cheaper to heat, which options make sense at that scale, and the one place an electric resistance heater is genuinely defensible.
Electric pool heaters
Heat pump or resistance element? Both are sold as electric pool heaters and one costs five times what the other does to deliver the same heat. How to tell which is which before you buy.
Pool heaters for saltwater pools
Salt corrodes the one part of a heater you cannot replace cheaply. Titanium against cupro-nickel against copper, and the heaters that state which they use.
What a pool heat pump costs to run
The heat pump running-cost derivation, what happens to it in cold air, and the two inputs that change the answer more than anything else.
What heater fits an Intex or Bestway pool?
Intex's entire US heating range is one solar mat. The heaters that suit an Intex, Bestway or inflatable pool, ruled in and out on power supply, pump flow rate and hose size rather than on output.
TURBRO pool heat pump review
The Manatee M18, Beluga B33V and Beluga B160V on the record: what TURBRO publishes, what its COP numbers are worth, and the hours-to-temperature arithmetic for each.