Hibernate Your Pool. Shut It Down for Weeks, Months, or Years.
Stop paying to run a pool nobody is swimming in. With the PowerLock Solar Safety Cover, you can completely shut your pool down and walk away, then come back to clean, safe, swim-ready water whenever you want.
“You Can’t Just Shut Down a Pool.” Yes, You Can.
Ask around and you will hear it everywhere: never leave a pool empty, never stop the pump, you have to pay someone to babysit it every single week. That advice is right for an uncovered pool. It is dead wrong for a pool under PowerLock.
An open Arizona pool cannot be left alone because the sun, the dust, and the heat go to work the second you stop paying attention. Water evaporates by the foot. Debris and monsoon grime pile up. Algae blooms. Mosquitoes move in. So yes, if your pool is open, the internet is right, do not walk away from it.
Cover it with PowerLock and every one of those problems disappears. The water stays in. The junk stays out. The sun cannot reach the water to grow algae. And the surface is locked down tight, so your backyard stays safe the entire time. That is the difference between abandoning a pool and hibernating one. Whether you are a snowbird gone for the summer, leaving on a long vacation, or simply done using the pool, closing a pool for the summer in Arizona works the same way: cover it, shut it down, and walk away.
No, you should never drain your pool to shut it down. Hibernation keeps the water in and the cover on, which is the only safe way to do it. More on why draining and filling in are the expensive mistakes below.
Left open, the same pool fills with leaves and turns green.
Sealed under PowerLock, the water stays clean and clear.
Every Month It Sits Open, Your Pool Is Spending Your Money
A pool you are not even using still drains your wallet every single month. Ever wonder how much it costs to run a pool in Arizona? Shut it down and you stop paying for all of it at once.
Water
$180 to $240 a year
PowerLock seals up to 95% of evaporation. An average Arizona pool loses about 1,667 gallons a month uncovered versus about 83 gallons covered. That is roughly 1,580 gallons a month you stop replacing, about $15 to $18 a month. See the full breakdown on our pool evaporation page.
Electricity
$540 to $990 a year
Hibernation means the pump goes off. Running a 1 to 1.5 HP pump 10 to 12 hours a day costs about $45 to $82 a month on APS rates. Shut it down and that line on your bill drops toward zero.
Pool Service
$960 to $1,440 a year
No open pool means no weekly service call. That is about $80 to $120 a month you stop paying the whole time it is shut down.
Chemicals
$20 to $35 a month
Sealed and shaded, the water is not burning off chlorine, so chemical use drops up to 80%. Typical spend is $30 to $50 a month, so you keep most of it every month.
Time
Hours back every week
No skimming, no vacuuming, no testing, no trips to the pool store. The daily upkeep goes to almost nothing.
Add It Up
40 to 60% less per year
With the pump off and service canceled, most owners land at the top of that range. One customer put it plainly: “$160 to $200 per month on service, chemicals and water” (Denis L).
Most owners spend 40 to 60% less per year with PowerLock. In full hibernation, with the pump off and service canceled, you are at the top of that range. Slide the numbers below to see what shutting down would save on your pool.
What Would Hibernation Save You?
Slide to match your pool. Numbers come from our PowerLock Cost Savings Worksheet, based on APS residential rates.
Estimates based on SSPC’s PowerLock Cost Savings Worksheet: up to 95% less evaporation (about $16/month in water), pump off, service canceled, and up to 80% lower chemical use. APS residential rate of $0.16/kWh. Your numbers will vary with pool size and rates.
Come Back to a Clean Pool, Not a Chore
The worst part of leaving a pool is what you come home to. Leaves, dust storms, monsoon debris, and a waterline you can barely see through. PowerLock seals the pool off, so almost nothing gets in. When you are ready to swim again, there is no all-day cleanup and no green-to-clean recovery. You pull the cover and the water is right where you left it. Hibernation is not just cheaper, it is less work from the day you shut down to the day you jump back in.
Eight Years Hibernated, Opened for the First Time
This Arizona pool sat completely shut down under a PowerLock cover for eight years. Watch what the water looked like the day we pulled the cover and opened it back up.
Shut Down, But Never Unsafe
A pool that sits unused is a pool nobody is watching, and that is exactly when accidents happen. PowerLock is a true walk-on safety cover, not a flimsy tarp. It holds the weight of kids and pets, so the months your pool is closed are the safest months it will ever have. You get every dollar of savings without giving up an ounce of peace of mind. Learn more about how PowerLock keeps your family safe.
This Only Works With PowerLock
Here is the catch: you cannot hibernate a pool under just any cover. To shut a pool down for months, the cover has to do three things at once: seal out evaporation and debris, block the sunlight that grows algae, and lock down as a true safety barrier. Almost every cover on the market does one of those, at best. PowerLock does all three, and that combination is what makes real, long-term hibernation possible.
- ✗Mesh safety cover. Lets water, dust, and sunlight straight through, so evaporation and algae keep right on going.
- ✗Solar / bubble blanket. Tears, waterlogs, and blows off in the wind, and it is no safety barrier at all.
- ✗Safety net. Keeps kids and pets out, but does nothing to seal the water from sun, debris, or evaporation.
- ✗Pool safety fence. A barrier around the pool, not over it. The water sits open, so it keeps costing and cleaning.
- ✓PowerLock Solar Safety Cover. Seals out evaporation and debris, blocks the sun, and locks down as a true walk-on safety cover. The one cover built to shut a pool all the way down. See everything it does on the PowerLock Safety Cover page.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Drain It or Fill It In
When people get tired of a pool, they reach for the two worst options: drain it, or fill it in for good. Both cost far more than a cover and both can do real, permanent damage. Hibernation gives you the same freedom from upkeep without any of it.
- Draining ruins the pool. An empty plaster pool can crack, dry out, and even lift out of the ground from groundwater pressure. Replastering runs into the thousands, and that is before any equipment damage.
- It wrecks your equipment. Pumps, filters, and plumbing are not meant to sit dry and idle. Seals dry out and lines can fail, turning a free shutdown into a repair bill.
- A half-empty pool is a health hazard. Rain and runoff collect in the deep end, and that stagnant water becomes a mosquito and bacteria breeding ground within days.
- Filling it in costs three to five times more. Demolition and fill is a five-figure job, it permanently removes your pool, and it lowers your home value. In Arizona a filled-in pool has to be disclosed to future buyers.
Hibernation keeps the water in, the structure protected, and your home value intact. You stop paying to run the pool without losing the pool. When you want it back, you pull the cover and swim.
How to Hibernate Your Pool in 4 Steps
Level
Fill the pool to its normal operating level.
Balance
Balance the water chemistry and shock it so it stays clean while it sits.
Cover
Install the PowerLock Solar Safety Cover and lock it down.
Shut Down
Turn the system off and walk away for weeks, months, or years.
Long-term hibernation: shut the filtration system down completely.
Short-term hibernation: either shut the pool pump off completely, or run it about an hour a day or a few hours once a week to keep the pool jump-in ready.
Ready to stop paying for a pool nobody is using?
Pool Hibernation FAQ
Can you really shut a pool down for months?
Yes. With water balanced and a PowerLock cover locked on, a pool can sit shut down for weeks, months, or even years, then be brought back swim-ready.
How long can a pool go without the pump running?
Under a sealed PowerLock cover the sun cannot reach the water, so algae will not bloom and the pool can sit for long stretches with the pump off. For short-term shutdowns, a little run time keeps it jump-in ready.
Should I drain my pool to close it?
No. Draining an Arizona pool risks cracking and drying out the plaster, which is expensive to fix. Hibernation keeps the water in and the cover on.
Will my pool turn green under a cover?
Not under PowerLock. It blocks the sunlight algae needs to grow, so the water stays clear.
Is this good for snowbirds or long vacations?
It is built for exactly that. Shut the pool down before you leave, and come back to clean, safe water with nothing owed to a pool service while you were gone.
Should I leave my pool cover on the whole time I am on vacation?
Yes. Leaving PowerLock on the entire time you are away is the point. It holds the water in, keeps debris and sun out, and keeps the pool locked and safe with nobody home to watch it. There is no reason to pull it until you are back and ready to swim.
Can you put chemicals in the pool with the cover on?
You balance and shock the water before you cover it, which is all a hibernating pool needs. If you are doing a short-term shutdown and want to add chemicals partway through, you can open a section of the cover, add them, run the pump briefly to circulate, then re-cover. For long-term hibernation, the pre-shutdown balance is what carries it.
They Shut Their Pools Down and Walked Away
★★★★★“We left Arizona for a 4-month trip and decided we needed Solar Safe to provide a well-fitted cover for our play pool so that it could ‘hibernate’ while we were away and not turn green. When we returned to Arizona in November, the water looked great, just like the day we left 4 months earlier.”
★★★★★“I closed my pool last April following the Solar Safe recommendations for chemical balance. I opened it this January and was extremely pleased to find the water clear and no algae or other noticeable cloudiness. The pool cover cleaned up easily and I was back filtering and correcting my chemicals the same day. A very happy customer!”
★★★★★“I am a snow bird. This is worth the money! No pool service needed, pool pump not running all year, less chemicals, pool cleaner not running all year, and no issues with a high water bill. I should have done it years ago. It’s a great cover!”
★★★★★“After my first winter of hibernating my pool, it makes total cost sense! Saving on pump use, water evaporation and pool chemicals. Moreover, I don’t have to worry about cleaning debris out of my pool. It’s nice to know that my aging dogs are safe from falling in my pool also.”
★★★★★“We purchased our cover just before leaving on a two week vacation. We had turned our pool off and had peace of mind that our pool would remain clean and the pool equipment is safe. We took the cover off a couple of weeks ago and the chemicals were exactly as when we started.”
★★★★★“The daily maintenance was insane and the cost of pool chemicals since COVID is a crime. I needed a serious break from the whole fiasco, especially since no one uses the pool anymore. Thank goodness I found Solar Safe. Hibernation mode is a dream come true!”
★★★★★“It currently is saving me between $160 and $200 per month on service, chemicals and water replenishment. I highly recommend Solar Safe Pool Covers.”
Ready to Shut It Down and Start Saving?
Get a free estimate and find out how fast a PowerLock cover pays for itself in water, power, chemicals, and service. Custom-made and installed on Arizona pools in Phoenix and Tucson.
Phoenix (623) 869-6015 | Tucson (520) 232-2434