Looking into how to save money on your pond in a world of rising energy costs
In recent times, we have all come under the pressures of increased energy costs and as a result, we are all looking for ways to lower our household energy consumption. Within this guide, we will be looking at ways to keep your pond ticking over whilst reducing your monthly energy bills.
The majority of your energy consumption on a pond is likely to come from your pump and filter. In a lot of cases, the filter is difficult to compromise on as the wattage is in direct relation to how powerful your UVC will be. Depending on the conditions of your particular pond though, you may be able to save by switching off the UVC in the winter months. The best way to reduce energy costs on your pond though is to shop around for an efficient filter pump. Our Ultraflow range for example is an excellent example of an energy efficient or 'eco' product. For the same flow output, you can have a pump that uses significantly less wattage.
We had a look at our Ultraflow 6000 pump compared to similar products currently on the market as well as some of our older models to produce the following comparison.
| Pump Model | Watts | Kwh | Average Cost per Kwh (UK) | Cost per hour | Annual running cost |
| Ultraflow 6000 | 40 | 0.04 | £0.34 | £0.0136 | £119.14 |
| Brand A 6000 | 65 | 0.065 | £0.34 | £0.0221 | £193.60 |
| Brand B 5000 | 65 | 0.065 | £0.34 | £0.0221 | £193.60 |
| Brand C 6000 | 45 | 0.045 | £0.34 | £0.0153 | £134.03 |
| Freeflow 6000 | 50 | 0.05 | £0.34 | £0.0170 | £148.92 |
| Pondpush 6000 | 65 | 0.065 | £0.34 | £0.0221 | £193.60 |
As you can see, for a 6000lph pump running all year round you could potentially pay up to as much as £70 more a year to run the pump. Energy efficient pumps effectively 'pay for themselves' in the savings from energy costs over the course of being run for a few years.
One other development in the pond pump market in recent years is the introduction of 'variable flow' pumps. These pumps can be turned down when required, so you are able to save energy further in the winter months. Our Variflow 10000 for example, can be run from as little as 25w. This gives you the flexibility of having a powerful pond pump in the summer whilst allowing you to reduce energy costs in the winter when the pond requires less filtration.
Solar
For smaller ponds, wildlife ponds, and water features, you may also be able to reduce the impact on your energy bill to 0 by switching to solar products. Our range provides for fountain pumps, air pumps and now even filtration without any requirement for mains electricity.
For a small water feature, you could save up to £30 annually by switching from a mains powered pump to a solar powered pump*.
Similarly, you could keep a small pond of up to 4000L filtered with a combination of our Ecofilter 4000 and Solarshower 800 without spending a penny on energy costs. A comparative mains powered filter set could run potentially run into triple figures in running costs if operated 24/7**.
To summarise, regardless of the size of pond, there are ways to save money on energy costs for your pond. Shopping around for the models with the lowest wattage can pay off in the long term.
*Based upon the price of running our Featureflow 1000 annually.
**Based upon the combined annual running cost of our smallest mains powered pump and filter set.
Prices and costs correct at time of publication.