NV Energy's Demand Charge: Will Your Pool Pump Cost More?

Starting January 1, 2027, NV Energy will add a daily demand charge to every Southern Nevada home's bill: 14 cents per kilowatt, based on your single highest 15-minute stretch of power use each day. Your pool pump only pushes that number up if it runs at the same time as your other big loads, like the AC, the dryer or the oven. Move the pump to a quiet part of the day and run a variable-speed pump on low, and the pool barely touches it.

What is NV Energy's daily demand charge?

It's a new line on your power bill. Every day, NV Energy looks at the 15 minutes when your house pulled the most electricity. That number gets turned into kilowatts and multiplied by 14 cents.

Then it resets. Tomorrow is a brand new day.

NV Energy says the typical home peaks around 3.5 kW, which works out to about 49 cents a day, or roughly $15 to $20 a month. In exchange, the regular per-kWh rate drops by 1.675 cents. The utility calls it revenue-neutral, meaning the average bill shouldn't change much if your habits don't change.

Here's the catch. The charge doesn't care what time of day your peak happens. 2 pm or 2 am, it counts the same.

The Attorney General fought it in court. A judge in Las Vegas let it move forward in May, and the AG said he'd appeal. As of today, January 1 is still the start date.

How does a pool pump affect the demand charge?

Your pool pump is one of the biggest motors at your house, and it runs for hours.

Picture a weekday in Henderson at 6 pm. The AC is running. Someone's cooking dinner. The dryer is going. If the pool pump kicks on right then too, it stacks on top of everything else and sets a higher peak for the day.

Now picture the same pump running at 11 am while the house is empty. It uses the same electricity. It just doesn't land on your peak.

That's the whole game. Don't pile big loads on top of each other.

What does the math look like for a typical pool?

Let's use round numbers. Say you have an older single-speed pump that pulls 2 kW. You can check yours on the motor label: amps times volts, divided by 1,000.

If that pump runs during your evening peak, it adds 2 kW to it. At 14 cents per kW, that's 28 cents a day. Over a month, about $8.50.

Not huge. But you're paying it for nothing.

Here's the flip side. If that same pump runs 8 hours a day, it uses 16 kWh. With the energy rate dropping 1.675 cents per kWh, you save about 27 cents a day on the electricity itself.

So a pump that runs while the house is quiet can actually come out ahead under the new setup. A pump that runs during your busiest hour mostly cancels out the savings.

A variable-speed pump changes the math even more. ENERGY STAR says cutting pump speed in half drops energy use to about one-eighth. That 2 kW pump running at half speed would be closer to a quarter of a kilowatt. Even if it overlapped your peak, you're talking about 3 or 4 cents a day.

When should I run my pool pump starting in 2027?

Run it when nothing else big is running. For most Las Vegas and Henderson homes, that's one of these windows:

• Late morning to mid-afternoon on weekdays. Everyone's at work or school. In January the AC is off and the heat usually isn't cranking yet.
• Overnight. Works fine for filtering, as long as your heater isn't running at the same time.

Stay away from roughly 5 to 9 pm. That's when most families are cooking, doing laundry, and running heat or AC all at once.

In winter we cut run time anyway. Cold water, slower algae. That gives you more room to schedule it.

One thing to watch: a lot of automation systems have freeze protection that turns the pump on when it gets close to freezing at night. That's a good thing. Leave it on. It runs at night, when your house is usually at its quietest.

Is it time to replace my single-speed pump?

Maybe. Here's how we think about it.

Since July 19, 2021, federal energy rules have pushed pool pumps of about 1 horsepower and up toward variable-speed designs. So if your pump went in after 2021, there's a good chance it's already variable speed. If it's older and single speed, it's probably the most expensive thing running at your pool every day.

We wouldn't rip out a pump that's working great just because of the demand charge. Moving the timer gets you most of the way there for free.

But if your old pump is loud, leaking at the seal, tripping the breaker, or the motor is starting to whine, don't throw money at a repair. Put that money toward a variable-speed pump. ENERGY STAR says certified in-ground pumps pay for themselves in under two years, and that's before the demand charge.

What about pool heaters and spas this winter?

This is the one that can actually sting.

Electric heat pumps and electric spa heaters pull a lot of power. A lot more than the pump. If you fire up the spa at 7 pm while the house heat is on and dinner's in the oven, you're setting a big peak for that day.

You don't have to give up the spa. Just think ahead. Heat it earlier in the afternoon, then keep it covered so it holds temp. A good cover does a lot of the work for you.

What should I do before January 1?

Here's the short list:

1. Find your pump's timer or automation app and check the run times. Make sure they didn't reset after a power outage.
2. Move pump hours out of the 5 to 9 pm window.
3. If you have a variable-speed pump, use a lower speed for long, slow filtering. Only go high for vacuuming or running the cleaner.
4. Plan spa and heater use for the afternoon, not right at dinner.
5. Log into your NV Energy account and use their daily demand tool to see when your house actually peaks.

If you want us to look at your equipment and set the schedule for you, we're happy to do it. We check timers every week on our service route anyway.

Call or text Summit Pool Services at (702) 608-5226. We're open 24/7 and we cover Henderson and Las Vegas.