Pool swim season in Port Angeles, WA
Port Angeles, WA: how long the pool season really is
An unheated pool in Port Angeles never reaches 78°F in a normal year. It peaks around 64°F in Aug. The air allows up to 0 swimmable months with a heater (no month).
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What each heater buys you in Port Angeles
| 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 WA prices of 14.4¢/kWh electricity and $18/Mcf gas. All-in spreads the purchase over the equipment's life.
Do you need a pool heater in Port Angeles?
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: Port Angeles, 0.8 mi away (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). Water temperature is estimated from air and sunshine, not measured.
Port Angeles 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 | 45° | 41° | 1.0 | 39° | 45° | – | – |
| Feb | 46° | 42° | 1.9 | 40° | 46° | – | – |
| Mar | 49° | 44° | 2.9 | 43° | 49° | – | – |
| Apr | 54° | 48° | 4.3 | 47° | 53° | – | – |
| May | 60° | 54° | 5.5 | 53° | 59° | – | – |
| Jun | 63° | 57° | 6.0 | 59° | 65° | – | – |
| Jul | 67° | 61° | 6.5 | 63° | 69° | – | – |
| Aug | 67° | 61° | 5.5 | 64° | 70° | – | – |
| Sep | 65° | 58° | 3.9 | 60° | 66° | – | – |
| Oct | 56° | 50° | 2.2 | 53° | 59° | – | – |
| Nov | 49° | 44° | 1.1 | 45° | 51° | – | – |
| Dec | 44° | 41° | 0.8 | 40° | 46° | – | – |
Sunshine peaks in Jul at 6.5 kWh/m²/day (NASA satellite data, 42.5 km grid cell). Highlighted months are swimmable with no heater.
How Port Angeles compares with nearby cities
Port Angeles ranks 91 of 91 Washington cities for unheated swim months, and no nearby city gets a longer unheated season.
| City | Distance | Unheated months | Heat pump months | Heat pump $/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Townsend, WA | 30 mi | 0 | 2 | $152 |
| Oak Harbor, WA | 40 mi | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Poulsbo, WA | 46 mi | 0 | 4 | $303 |
| Anacortes, WA | 46 mi | 0 | 3 | $215 |
| Bremerton, WA | 52 mi | 0 | 4 | $303 |
| Bainbridge Island, WA | 55 mi | 0 | 4 | $303 |