Costs to install a pool will vary massively depending on where you're located, if it's in-ground or above ground, whether your council will approve it easily, etc etc.
Salt water pools are more expensive than chlorine because all the pumps, filter etc have to be made from titanium, otherwise the salt water corrodes them.
To add a heating system is a huge topic in itself! As a quick guide:
Direct electric element - cheapest heater to install, very expensive to run! I don't even know if you can still get these because they're too expensive to run.
Gas heater - probably the most common option. Modest install cost (maybe $2k-$3k), modest running costs. However - if you're not on a natural gas network and have to use bottled gas, the running costs will be a lot higher.
Solar - Probably the most common solar pool heater these days are the 'solar mats'. Basically they're black plastic tubing that gets clipped to your roof, and the pool water just gets pumped through them. Results may vary but most people seem happy with them. Cheaper to install than evacuated glass tube-style solar panels.
Basically free to run.
Electric heat pump - these are like an air conditioning unit - they absorb heat out of the air, and use it to heat your pool water. They have an electric motor so use electricity to run.
These are becoming very popular for pool heating. However, the actual heat output of a modestly-priced heat pump will be much lower than the same priced gas heater. This means it takes much longer to heat your pool.
However, once it's up to temperature, the heat pump will be able to maintain the temperature okay. Probably a similar running cost to a gas pool heater. But if you also have electric solar panels then they will offset the cost of electricity, so these can be very economical to run in that case.
The major component of heat loss from a pool is through evaporation, so make sure you keep your pool covered!
I would suggest to get a few quotes from pool installers in your area and see what they say.
Frank Ansell
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