Florida Power & Light customers are looking at the largest rate increase in the company’s history. Regulators approved the new rate settlement in November 2025, and it started showing up on bills January 1, 2026. The average residential customer using 1,000 kWh a month is paying about $2.50 more right out of the gate, with further increases scheduled through 2029 to cover new solar and battery storage projects.

For most South Florida homeowners, that’s an unwelcome number on an already-familiar bill. But if you own a pool, there’s a piece of that bill you actually have some control over: your pool heater.

Why Your Pool Heater Is Worth a Second Look

A pool heater running on a standard single-speed compressor works like an old-school light switch. It’s either running at full power or it’s off, cycling on and off to hold your set temperature. That constant full-power cycling is one of the bigger, quieter line items on an electric bill, especially for a pool that stays in use most of the year here in Florida.

A variable speed heat pump works differently. Instead of switching between full blast and off, it adjusts its own speed to match exactly how much heat your pool actually needs at that moment. Less demand, less power drawn. No unnecessary full-power cycling.

What Variable Speed Actually Changes

Florida Pool Heating installs AquaCal’s variable speed heat pumps, and the difference shows up in the numbers. These units can reach a coefficient of performance (C.O.P.) of 10.5 or higher, among the highest of any heat pump on the market. In plain terms: for every unit of electricity the system uses, it moves far more than that back out as heat for your pool, instead of wasting it on-and-off cycling.

Pair a variable speed heat pump with a variable speed circulating pump, and the combined system can heat a pool for a fraction of what gas heating costs to run, without the fuel deliveries, tank, or open flame.

The Bottom Line With Rates Going Up

An FPL rate hike doesn’t change how much energy your pool equipment uses, it just changes what that energy costs you. Every kWh a single-speed heater burns cycling on and off now costs more than it did in December 2025, and it’ll cost more again in 2027. A variable speed system doesn’t erase that increase, but it means fewer of those kWh get wasted in the first place.

If your pool heater is aging or you’re running a standard single-speed unit, this is a reasonable time to ask what switching to variable speed would actually save you on your specific setup. Florida Pool Heating has been installing and servicing AquaCal systems across South Florida for over 35 years and can walk you through the real numbers for your pool, not just the marketing ones.

See how the AquaCal Variable Speed Heat Pump works, or contact Florida Pool Heating for a free estimate.