Test-kit readings
Current free chlorine, pH, alkalinity, CYA, and calcium from your own kit. Estimates end where testing begins.
Methodology
How Wavo Calculator calculates.
Explicit-input models with visible formulas, dated baselines, machine-checked test cases, and a stated verification boundary. Screening-grade arithmetic for pools, not lab analysis.
The principle
Every result must be reproducible from the inputs on the page.
Each calculator is a fixed formula over labeled inputs. There are no hidden scores, no black-box adjustments, and no location lookups: the numbers you type, plus the stated defaults, fully determine the outputs. Every calculator page shows its formula, and every calculator ships with automated test cases that fixed inputs must reproduce before publication.
Units and conventions
One consistent system across all thirty-eight tools.
Gallons, ppm, BTU, and dollars
Gallons size every dose; ppm measures concentration; BTU and therms size heat; kWh sizes pump cost. Money always derives from a bill rate — per kWh, per therm, or per 1,000 gallons — multiplied at one documented step.
Money handling
Rates are entered exactly as printed on the bill and converted once, at a single documented step, to dollars. Displayed money rounds to cents; intermediate values keep full precision so chained steps do not drift.
Duty cycle
Pumps and heaters are modeled as rated power times actual run hours from your timer. Where runtime is uncertain, the input stays editable and the assumption stays labeled, rather than being buried in a fixed factor.
Precision statement
Outputs are screening-grade: good enough to rank options, size a first pass, or check a quote. They are not lab analysis and do not replace test-kit readings, manufacturer sheets, or a pro’s eyes on the pool.
Method by category
What each tool family models, and what it assumes.
Capacity & refills
Gallons from dimensions, fill time from hose GPM, evaporation from surface area and inches lost. Every dose downstream depends on gallons, so measure once and reuse the number everywhere.
Water chemistry
Doses scale with gallons times ppm gap: chlorine, salt, acid, alkalinity, CYA, calcium, borate, and shock. Targets follow pool-industry ranges; test-kit readings replace defaults during verification.
Equipment & energy
Pump runtime from turnover math, electricity from watts times hours times your rate, heater cost from BTU times therms. Variable-speed payback divides upgrade cost by monthly savings.
Heating choices
Gas heats fastest, heat pumps cost less per season in warm air, solar needs collector area near pool area. Size from gallons and temperature rise, then compare session cost before buying.
Pool costs
Build cost from area times local rate plus extras, liner and deck from square footage, monthly chemistry from your actual spend. Quotes vary by soil, access, and fence code — the calculator gives the first pass, not the final bid.
Spas & hot tubs
Small water volumes dosed in teaspoons and tablespoons, bromine 3-5 ppm for hot water. Small errors matter more in 400 gallons than in 15,000 — measure twice, pour once.
Sources and baselines
Dated numbers, named sources, annual review.
Usage and rate averages
National figures (for example, average household kWh and cents per kWh) come from U.S. Energy Information Administration tables and carry their data year. A yearly site review checks defaults against the newest release.
Code references
Where practice is discussed, product labels and manufacturer instructions govern dosing and handling. Local pool codes and regulations always govern construction, barriers, and drainage.
Equipment figures
Typical wattages, COP ranges, and lifespans are labeled as starting points. Nameplate data and manufacturer sheets replace them during verification.
Verification protocol
Replace these five before relying on any result.
Current utility rates
Electric rate per kWh, gas price per therm, and water rate per 1,000 gallons exactly as billed this month.
Pool & equipment facts
Actual gallons, pump GPM and watts, heater BTU and efficiency, filter size — from labels and manuals, not memory.
Pool conditions
Sun, wind, cover use, bather load, and rain that no generic model can see.
Qualified review
A pool professional confirms the conclusion before money is spent.
Rate baselines are dated starting points, not live utility feeds. Calculator results are screening outputs, not water bills, quotes, permits, or guarantees.
Known limits
What these tools deliberately do not do.
No code compliance
Nothing here determines whether a pool meets local code. Barriers, drains, clearances, and permits are field decisions under local rules.
No bather-load modeling
Dose tools assume average conditions. Heavy swim days, storms, and algae blooms change demand faster than any baseline — retest and re-run.
No forecasts
Cost tools project arithmetic, not the future. They show sensitivity to rates and assumptions; they do not predict weather, prices, or equipment life.
No account data
Public baselines never describe your pool. Two identical pools on different water and power rates have legitimately different costs.