Pool swim season in Anchorage, AK
Anchorage, AK: how long the pool season really is
An unheated pool in Anchorage never reaches 78°F in a normal year. It peaks around 58°F in Jul. The air allows up to 0 swimmable months with a heater (no month).
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Heater options for a Anchorage pool, side by side
| Option | Months | Swimmable | Energy/yr | All-in/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No heater | 0 | no month | $0 | $0 |
| Solar cover only | 0 | no month | $0 | $50 |
| Solar panels + cover | 0 | no month | $0 | $283 |
| Heat pump + cover | 0 | no month | $0 | $550 |
| Gas heater + cover | 0 | no month | $0 | $425 |
For a 450 sq ft pool held at 80°F, at AK prices of 27.3¢/kWh electricity and $13/Mcf gas. All-in spreads the purchase over the equipment's life.
Do you need a pool heater in Anchorage?
No. Your pool is already warm for every month the air allows. A heater adds nothing.
No heater makes outdoor swimming practical here: the air is too cold in every month. If you want to swim at home, price an enclosure or an indoor pool instead, and see why a cover cannot fix this and where solar panels stop working.
Weather station: Eagle Rvr Nature Center, 4.2 mi away (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). Water temperature is estimated from air and sunshine, not measured.
Anchorage month by month: air, sun and pool water
| Month | Air high | Air avg | Sun kWh/m²/day | Water, unheated | Water, covered | Heat pump $ | Gas $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21° | 14° | 0.3 | 12° | 18° | – | – |
| Feb | 28° | 20° | 0.9 | 15° | 21° | – | – |
| Mar | 35° | 25° | 2.4 | 22° | 28° | – | – |
| Apr | 47° | 37° | 4.0 | 32° | 38° | – | – |
| May | 58° | 47° | 4.9 | 44° | 50° | – | – |
| Jun | 65° | 55° | 5.3 | 53° | 59° | – | – |
| Jul | 67° | 58° | 4.8 | 58° | 64° | – | – |
| Aug | 65° | 55° | 3.8 | 57° | 63° | – | – |
| Sep | 56° | 47° | 2.4 | 50° | 56° | – | – |
| Oct | 42° | 34° | 1.1 | 38° | 44° | – | – |
| Nov | 26° | 20° | 0.4 | 24° | 30° | – | – |
| Dec | 23° | 16° | 0.1 | 15° | 21° | – | – |
Sunshine peaks in Jun at 5.3 kWh/m²/day (NASA satellite data, 38.0 km grid cell). Highlighted months are swimmable with no heater.
How Anchorage compares with nearby cities
Anchorage ranks 3 of 4 Alaska cities for unheated swim months, and no nearby city gets a longer unheated season.
| City | Distance | Unheated months | Heat pump months | Heat pump $/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasilla, AK | 29 mi | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Fairbanks, AK | 258 mi | 0 | 2 | $453 |
| Juneau, AK | 558 mi | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Lynden, WA | 1340 mi | 0 | 4 | $373 |
| Ferndale, WA | 1341 mi | 0 | 2 | $137 |
| Bellingham, WA | 1350 mi | 0 | 2 | $129 |