How to know the temperature of the swimming pool?

Which thermometer for the swimming pool?

The pool thermometer seems at first sight a playful accessory. We think first of all that it will give the temperature of the water, just to know if swimming will be pleasant. But it turns out to be much more essential than it seems. Indeed, it will also allow us to know how to manage the temperature of the water in the swimming pool. So what are the tools available that help measure the temperature of your swimming pool?

Floating pool thermometers

Floating thermometers give the temperature at the surface of the water. You have to remove a few degrees to get the real temperature, that of the entire volume of water.

Its installation is simple and easy, just place it in the pool and its cord slipped into the liner rail stabilizes it. Be careful, the filtration flow can detach it and drag it towards the skimmers or it can get stuck in a corner or in the shade. In this case the temperature is not right.

Sometimes as it ages, it no longer floats and sinks to the bottom of the pool. When it ends up in the middle or at the bottom of the pool, a pole or the pool landing net can be useful to retrieve it.

The floating pool thermometer offers everything a panel of models that adapts to everyone's tastes, finances, originality and humor. Mercury or digital for more reliable and simplified reading, remote to find out about the water temperature from home, luminous for easier reading at night... The writing can be "giant" for better readability when the thermometer is in the middle of the basin.

From the simplest to the most sophisticated, some measure UV and give the index of the sunscreen to be used, others are also diffusers of treatment product for self-supporting swimming pools in particular, still others can be set and ring when the desired temperature is reached, thermometers connected with a reading on the smartphone or on a dial in his living room...

The floating thermometer comes in the form of a buoy, a dial, a animals or boats…, playful, original, giant, classic or connected!

Its price is very affordable, from a few euros up to 50 euros for connected or remote users.

Swimming pool temperature sensors

Temperature probes are more precise, more discreet. They allow you to know the actual temperature of the pool. It is an accurate and reliable continuous analysis.

The temperature sensor requires installation in the technical room. A probe holder or a support collar is installed on the discharge pipe, after the filtration and then it is connected to the electrical panel of the swimming pool. Nothing floats on the pool.

If the probe is connected, the temperature is displayed on your smartphone, or the reading is done on a screen.

On the digital screen of the heat pump

If a heat pump is fitted to the swimming pool, the water temperature is displayed on the control screen, provided that the device is in operation.


Nothing replaces a temperature thermometer pool. It's up to you to choose the one that best meets your expectations and your budget. It can be changed every year or remain in place for many years if it is removed from the water during wintering.

The swimming pool thermometer is really useful on a daily basis, it knows how to make itself indispensable.

Learn why monitoring the pool temperature is so important and find out how to protect the pool from too hot water by reading our dedicated articles.