Pool swim season in Menlo Park, CA
Menlo Park, CA: how long the pool season really is
An unheated pool in Menlo Park never reaches 78°F in a normal year. It peaks around 70°F in Jul. The air allows up to 6 swimmable months with a heater (May to Oct).
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What each heater buys you in Menlo Park
| 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 | 5 | May to Sep | $0 | $283 |
| Heat pump + cover | 6 | May to Oct | $753 | $1,303 |
| Gas heater + cover | 6 | May to Oct | $1,005 | $1,430 |
For a 450 sq ft pool held at 80°F, at CA prices of 32.6¢/kWh electricity and $22/Mcf gas. All-in spreads the purchase over the equipment's life.
The cheapest way to the full season in Menlo Park
Solar panels + cover: 5 of 6 possible months for about $283 a year all-in, which works out near $57 for each month it adds.
A solar cover alone adds no swim months here, so if you want a longer season you need a heater (why); still use one at night to hold the heat you pay for. If you get quotes, ask for a heat pump sized to your pool's surface area; here it beats gas all-in (heat pump or gas).
Weather station: Palo Alto, 2.5 mi away (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). Water temperature is estimated from air and sunshine, not measured.
Menlo Park 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 | 58° | 48° | 2.5 | 48° | 54° | – | – |
| Feb | 61° | 51° | 3.4 | 50° | 56° | – | – |
| Mar | 66° | 55° | 4.6 | 54° | 60° | – | – |
| Apr | 70° | 57° | 6.0 | 59° | 65° | – | – |
| May | 73° | 61° | 6.7 | 63° | 69° | $215 | $278 |
| Jun | 79° | 66° | 7.3 | 68° | 74° | $116 | $159 |
| Jul | 79° | 68° | 6.5 | 70° | 76° | $70 | $99 |
| Aug | 79° | 67° | 5.8 | 70° | 76° | $71 | $99 |
| Sep | 80° | 66° | 5.1 | 69° | 75° | $97 | $133 |
| Oct | 74° | 61° | 4.0 | 65° | 71° | $184 | $237 |
| Nov | 64° | 53° | 2.8 | 57° | 63° | – | – |
| Dec | 58° | 48° | 2.1 | 50° | 56° | – | – |
Heating costs most in May (about $215 with a heat pump, $278 with gas). Sunshine peaks in Jun at 7.3 kWh/m²/day (NASA satellite data, 31.1 km grid cell). Highlighted months are swimmable with no heater.
How Menlo Park compares with nearby cities
Menlo Park ranks 333 of 376 California cities for unheated swim months, and no nearby city gets a longer unheated season.
| City | Distance | Unheated months | Heat pump months | Heat pump $/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Palo Alto, CA | 1 mi | 0 | 6 | $753 |
| Redwood City, CA | 4 mi | 0 | 6 | $660 |
| Palo Alto, CA | 6 mi | 0 | 6 | $753 |
| Newark, CA | 7 mi | 0 | 6 | $670 |
| San Carlos, CA | 7 mi | 0 | 6 | $660 |
| Mountain View, CA | 7 mi | 0 | 6 | $651 |