How many homes in the Las Vegas metropolitan area have swimming pools?
How many of those swimming pools use a solar pool heating sytem?

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 07 Dec 2003 08:24 PST

I have found some national data about the numbers of homes with
swimming pools, and the percent with solar heating.  There is also
information (again, nationally) about average costs, fuel savings,
payback periods, trends in installation, etc.

Most of the solar-heated pools are in California and Florida, and
there may be data specific to these states, but I have not seen
anything specific to Las Vegas.

Would the national information be of interest to you as an answer to your question?

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Clarification of Question by rro22-ga on 07 Dec 2003 09:10 PST

The national data is of some interest, and state-specific data about
California and Florida is also of some interest.  If you were to
provide me such data, and the data is highly detailed, and if you
provide detailed information as to your reference sources for that
data, I'd be willing to pay $100 for it.

It isn't worth $200 to me because I can find much of that more general
information on my own time, and at present I am researching Las Vegas
specifically.

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Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 07 Dec 2003 09:35 PST

Hello, rr022-ga,

 I am currently trying to find some Las Vegas information for you. I
am in the process of contacting the solar pool contractors in Las
Vegas as well as some realtors. I will not be able to contact some of
the businesses until Monday.  If I can find estimated numbers from the
major solar pool contractors in Las Vegas, will that suffice?

 And you still also want a general estimate of how many homes have
non-solar pools as well, correct?

umiat

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Clarification of Question by rro22-ga on 07 Dec 2003 10:40 PST

Yes, you are correct.  Thank you for your continued effort.

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Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 07 Dec 2003 16:16 PST

rro22,

 I highly doubt that there is anyone that will know the exact number
of residential pools and solar pools in the Las Vegas metro area. So
far, I have found

 * a 2001 estimate of the total number of residential pools in Clark
County, which includes Las Vegas and the outlying suburbs
 
 * a percentage from a seasoned Las Vegas metro real estate agent (15+
years of sales) who gave me an "educated estimate" of the "percentage"
of homes in the Las Vegas metro area that have residential pools. I
called the agent directly but she would prefer not to have her name
published. (I want to stress that this is a "percentage" and not an
actual number)The particular agent stressed that Las Vegas is growing
so rapidly it would be very difficult to find a precise number,
especially with all the new housing starts.

 I have called some solar pool companies but as I suspected, they were
closed today. So that I don't spend a lot of unfruitful time, it would
be very helpful to know your thoughts concerning the following:

1. Would the Clark County number for residential pools plus the
percentage estimate from the realtor suffice as an answer to the first
part of your question?
2. Would estimates from solar pool contractors concerning the total
number of solar-heated pools suffice as an answer to the second part
of your question?(providing I can get such estimates)
3. If no total solar pool estimates are available, would individual
pool installation numbers from a few of the most prominant solar pool
contractors give you sufficient information to work with? (providing
they will divulge such data)

 If I can find no estimates from direct phone calls, is there anything
else you would like me to investigate concerning the pool industry in
Las Vegas?

 Thanks!

 umiat

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Clarification of Question by rro22-ga on 08 Dec 2003 06:57 PST

Hello Umiat,
All of the data you are suggesting would be very helpful.  However,
one essential point is that the data needs to be "verifiable" or
"attributable" to a reliable source(s).  For example, if the realtor
doesn't wish to provide his/ her name, then you could be inventing the
data for all I know.  I am a businessman with a good reputation, so:
1) I need to know sources of data; and 2) there might well be a
business opportunity for the realtor and for manufacturers whose names
you can provide me (alongside the data that they have provided you on
my behalf).  I am very impressed with your efforts so far, but I
really need you to provide your sources of data; otherwise it falls
into the category of unsubstantiated data.  Please try to solve this
dilemma, as I am eager to receive the data to which you refer, but
simply want proof that it is credible, and coming from named sources
that are credible.  Thank you again for your outstanding effort.

Dear rro22,

Thanks very much for your question. Umiat has graciously allowed me
to answer it.

I contacted Loren Brown, a marketing research analyst for PKData.
His company does the research for the National Pool and Spa Institute,
and keeps track of things like the number of pools and spas in the
country. Most of it is in reports you must pay for, but Brown was
kind enough to pull these figures for me.

According to PKData figures, there are 55,460 pools in the Las Vegas
Metropolitan Statistical Area. That includes in-ground as well as
above-ground pools. Generally, the ratio of in-ground to above-ground
is just under 5/1 in Vegas, so that would mean there are about 10,000
above-ground and some 45,000 in-ground pools.

Loren Brown is at 770-931-9677.
PKData?s website is at :

http://www.pkdata.net/PKData/Default.htm

The National Pool and Spa Institute is at:

http://www.nspi.org/

I also spoke with the Sales Manager for Anthony and Sylvan Pools,
the number one pool company in Las Vegas. Jerry Anzalone
sees all the sales that go through his division, and estimates
that 10-15% of the pools are solar heated. He explains this
rather low number by saying that about 85% of pools also
have a spa, so they need a gas heater, to get the higher heat.
But when people have a pool only, he always recommends 
they go for solar heat. Anzalone has been in the pool business for 
43 years.

Anthony and Sylvan Pools in Las Vegas is at:
702-263-3007

http://www.anthonysylvan.com/default.asp
                                            

John Gurr is the owner of SunTrek, a company that manufactures and 
sells solar heaters. He gives a similar number to Anzalone?s. He  
asserts that the percentage of solar-heated pools is about 10-12%. 
He?s been in the business for 20 years. 

SunTrek?s website is at:

http://www.suntrekind.com/about.html

The phone number is : 702-491-9150

Doug Edwards does pool service for Emerald Pools in Vegas.
He says only ?a handful? of his 200 accounts are solar heated,
probably about 7-10%. He points out that only about 20% of
all pools are actually used, so many of the solar systems are
allowed to fall into disrepair.

Emerald Pools: 702-646-3029.

Russ Lord, owner of the Free Energy Store, was my one dissenting,
and more liberal opinion. He sells solar heaters. He estimated that 
1/3 of the homes in Las Vegas have swimming pools, of those he 
estimates  30% are solar-heated. 

He says in Las Vegas, despite the sun and heat, heaters are
necessary because the dryness causes lots of surface evaporation
from the pools. The evaporation removes heat and cools the water.

Russ Lord
The Free Energy Store
http://www.freeenergystore.com/information/pools.html

702-320-0770

If you credit Lord's more optimistic estimate, 30%, then there are 
13,500 solar heated, in-ground pools.

If you go with the conservative estimate, 10-15%, that would mean 
there are between and 4,500 and 6,750 solar heated pools in the 
Las Vegas MSA. Frankly, I believe the conservative estimate. More 
people subscribed to it, and they comprise a broader view of the 
industry.

I hope this answer is what you are looking for. If anything is
unclear, please press the Clarify Answer button before you
rate my work. It?s a pleasure to be of service.

Sincerely,
cath-ga
Google Answers Researcher