How much does a pool pump cost to run?

How much does my pool pump cost to run per hour?

Multiply the pump’s power in kilowatts by your electricity rate. The power is the hard part, because the plate on a pump gives a maximum, not what it draws while filtering. We took it from the federal Energy Rating registry export of 10 February 2026, which lists 662 pool pumps, each with its labelled kWh a year and a daily run time. Energy Rating says the label is calculated on pumping 50,000 litres a day, so label kWh a year ÷ 365 ÷ daily run time gives the average power while the pump runs.

• Single-speed pumps (439): the middle half draw 815–1,209 W, median 991 W. At 33.14c/kWh the median costs 32.8c an hour.
• Variable-speed pumps (176): median 226 W on the label test, 7.5c an hour at the same rate.
• Two-speed (31) and multi-speed (16) pumps sit between them, at medians of 521 W and 299 W.

Your own pump’s figure is on its Energy Rating label. Divide the kWh a year by 365, then by the hours the label assumes, or simply use kWh a year × rate ÷ 12 for a month.

The quotable figure: a typical single-speed pool pump costs about 33c an hour to run on Sydney’s 2026–27 default tariff, and a variable-speed pump at its filtering speed about 7.5c.

How much does a pool pump cost to run per day and per month in my state?

The rate is the second input. These are the 2026–27 regulated flat rates, including GST: the AER’s Default Market Offer caps for NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia, the Essential Services Commission’s Victorian Default Offer, and Synergy’s Home Plan A1 in WA. Your own plan may be cheaper; use your bill’s rate if you have it.

The day here is the label’s day: 50,000 litres through the filter, 3.5 hours for the median single-speed pump and 6.1 hours for the median variable-speed. A bigger pool, or a second turnover, scales the cost in proportion. How many hours your pool actually needs is worked on how long a pool pump should run each day; the yearly figures and the payback on a new pump are on what a pool pump costs to buy and run.

Why the per-hour cost misleads: the hourly trap

Per hour, the median variable-speed pump is 4.4 times cheaper than the median single-speed pump (226 W against 991 W). Per day it is only 2.6 times cheaper (1.34 kWh against 3.49 kWh), because on the label test it takes 6.1 hours to move the 50,000 litres that the single-speed moves in 3.5.

So compare pumps on cost per day of filtering, not cost per hour. A variable-speed pump saves money by running slowly for longer. Energy.gov.au says a 5-star variable-speed pump uses 55% less energy than a 1-star single-speed one.

Running it fast throws that away. The median variable-speed pump’s nameplate input power is 1,300 W, which is 34c–54c an hour on the same tariffs, more than the median single-speed pump. Use full speed for vacuuming or a spa jet, then drop back.

The quotable rule: a variable-speed pool pump is only cheap to run when it is running slowly; on full speed it costs about the same per hour as a single-speed pump.

What makes your pump cost more than the table

Four things push a real bill above these figures, and none of them needs new equipment to check:

• More water than the label. The label assumes 50,000 litres a day. A 70,000-litre pool turned over once a day is 1.4 times the kWh.
• A dirty filter or full baskets. Energy.gov.au says clean skimmer and pump baskets and a clean filter reduce the work the pump has to do.
• A pump bigger than the pool needs. Energy Rating advises choosing the smallest pump suitable for your pool.
• Running it at the expensive time. On a time-of-use plan, the same kWh can cost very different amounts.

If the pump is due for replacement anyway, or you are pricing a new pool, ask each quote to name the pump model and its label kWh so you can run this arithmetic before you buy. Compare pool quotes on the same pump specification. For the other running-cost levers, see the best way to reduce pool running costs.

Common questions

Sources

• Energy Rating: swimming pool pump registry export, 10 February 2026 (662 pumps: type, nameplate input power, daily run time, labelled kWh a year), data.gov.au
• Energy Rating: Understand the Energy Rating label (swimming pool pumps, pumping 50,000 litres of water per day)
• Energy Rating: Pool pumps consumer information
• energy.gov.au: Pool pumps (5-star variable speed uses 55% less energy than 1-star single speed; clean baskets and filter)
• AER: Default market offer prices 2026–27, final determination, Figure 2.1 residential flat-rate caps (GST incl.)
• ESC Victoria: Victorian Default Offer 2026–27 price determination, Schedule 1 domestic flat tariffs (GST incl.)
• Synergy: Home Plan A1 (electricity charge 33.2621 cents per unit incl. GST, read 12 October 2026)

General information only, current at 2026-10-12. Pool rules differ by state and by council, and penalty amounts are updated regularly. Confirm your own obligations with your council or a registered inspector before acting.