Pool swim season in Santa Monica, CA
Swim season in Santa Monica without a heater, and with one
An unheated pool in Santa Monica never reaches 78°F in a normal year. It peaks around 70°F in Aug. The air allows up to 1 swimmable month with a heater (Sep).
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What each heater buys you in Santa Monica
| 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 | 1 | Sep | $0 | $283 |
| Heat pump + cover | 1 | Sep | $93 | $643 |
| Gas heater + cover | 1 | Sep | $127 | $552 |
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 Santa Monica
Solar cover only: 0 of 1 possible months for about $50 a year all-in, adding no months over an unheated pool.
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 gas as well as a heat pump: once the purchase price is counted, gas comes out cheaper all-in here (heat pump or gas).
Weather station: Santa Monica Pier, 0.2 mi away (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). Water temperature is estimated from air and sunshine, not measured.
Santa Monica 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 | 62° | 56° | 3.2 | 56° | 62° | – | – |
| Feb | 62° | 56° | 4.0 | 57° | 63° | – | – |
| Mar | 62° | 57° | 5.4 | 59° | 65° | – | – |
| Apr | 63° | 58° | 6.6 | 61° | 67° | – | – |
| May | 63° | 60° | 7.5 | 63° | 69° | – | – |
| Jun | 66° | 63° | 8.1 | 66° | 72° | – | – |
| Jul | 69° | 65° | 7.9 | 69° | 75° | – | – |
| Aug | 70° | 66° | 7.4 | 70° | 76° | – | – |
| Sep | 70° | 66° | 6.3 | 69° | 75° | $93 | $127 |
| Oct | 68° | 63° | 4.8 | 66° | 72° | – | – |
| Nov | 67° | 60° | 3.6 | 62° | 68° | – | – |
| Dec | 63° | 57° | 2.9 | 58° | 64° | – | – |
Heating costs most in Sep (about $93 with a heat pump, $127 with gas). Sunshine peaks in Jun at 8.1 kWh/m²/day (NASA satellite data, 54.4 km grid cell). Highlighted months are swimmable with no heater.
How Santa Monica compares with nearby cities
Santa Monica ranks 331 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 5 mi | 0 | 8 | $618 |
| Culver City, CA | 6 mi | 0 | 8 | $618 |
| Beverly Hills, CA | 7 mi | 0 | 7 | $440 |
| El Segundo, CA | 8 mi | 0 | 6 | $427 |
| Manhattan Beach, CA | 9 mi | 0 | 6 | $427 |
| West Hollywood, CA | 9 mi | 0 | 7 | $440 |