Phillips sees improved water quality as a benefit. "Instead of running six or eight hours a day with the associated operating costs of a standard centrifugal pump, then the pool sits stagnant for 16 to 18 hours — that's what typically happens — imagine a system that runs 24 hours a day, is almost silent, and is able to maintain its chemical balances and its water quality over the entire timeline. So not only is it quieter, costs less to run, and reduces the impact on the system, but in addition to that, the water quality is outrageous. And, for people who want to use alternative sanitizers like ozone, it's perfect, because ozone has no shelf life. Once the system shuts off, there's no sanitation. So now you're able to run an ozone system 24 hours a day, and your controller will only engage the saline system when the water quality starts to drop off."
     Another characteristic that IntelliFlo and Ikeric share is a three-phase motor. Three-phase electrical service is generally only found in industrial parks, but both the IntelliFlo and the Ikeric are able to take single-phase residential power and change it into three-phase power. Single-phase power is not smoothly delivered; the actual voltage may fluctuate significantly. Three-phase power allows for a constant delivery of a given voltage. "The computer actually turns that single-phase voltage into three-phase voltage. It delivers the exact voltage that motor needs at the speed it's operating," says Stiles. "When you use a standard energy-efficient motor and hook it up to a residential circuit, it's not guaranteed to get the voltage it's rated for. If it's a 230-volt motor rated at 70 percent efficiency, and it gets 210 volts, it throws the efficiency off. If it's over 230 volts — same thing. It has to be right at 230 volts."
     This is a big bonus for Anderson. "We have a lot of problems in some areas with low voltage or voltage fluctuations. That inverter assembly [in the IntelliFlo] actually cleans up the voltage and the motor is always getting a pure steady voltage. So theoretically this pump will last a lot longer; it's not going to be running as hot."