Freeze Protection is a feature available in every Attendant that allows you to protect your pool and spa equipment – your investment – when temperatures drop below freezing.
The Attendant will automatically turn on your water pumps (and heater when configured) to prevent the water in your plumbing from freezing up by forcing it to move. It’s much more difficult for moving water to solidify, and Freeze Protection will help to prevent the catastrophic failure of your pipes cracking and ice damaging your plumbing and hardware.
The service is typically enabled by default when The Attendant is installed using default values. The default values are set so that pumps start running at 100% speed when the air temperature falls below 40° F (4.4° C).
This means that when the air temperature falls below 40° F (4.4° C), The Attendant will automatically begin moving water through the different water flows configured for your pool/spa. Every 20 minutes, the path will change and route to the next path. This logic ensures that moving water flows through all the plumbing, hardware, and features that need it.
Of course, these options are configurable. You will need to go into Installer Mode and then select the Site tab. There you will see a section labeled “Freeze Protection.”
Freeze Protect Configuration Options
Mode – Enabled, Thermistor Only, Internet Only, Disabled
- Enabled – Enables Freeze Protection, and uses the ambient air temperature sensor for temperature readings. The system will fall back to Internet weather data if the sensor malfunctions. Default setting.
- Thermistor Only – Enables Freeze Protection, and uses the ambient air temperature sensor for temperature readings only.
- Internet Only – Turns on Freeze Protection, and uses Internet weather data only for temperature readings.
- Disabled – Completely turns off Freeze Protection.
Minimum Pump Speed – Controls the lowest allowed pump speed to run while in Freeze Protection mode. You will not be able to set the water pump speed below this limit. Default value: 100%
Activating Temperature – Ambient air temperature when the system goes into Freeze Protection mode. Default value: 40° F. You will see a “standing by” message in the mobile app once the temperature is within 5 degrees.
Auto Pause for Heating Controls – This setting is optional, and if enabled, will pause Freeze Protection mode for this many minutes if a heating control is already on (i.e. Spa heating is currently on.). Default value: Off
Turn On Heating Devices When Below Minimum Temperature – Optional setting. If enabled, Freeze Protection will automatically turn on a heater when the water temperature (not air temperature) falls below the minimum value set in the Body of Water configuration in Installer Mode. Default value: Off
Also on the Site tab of Installer Mode, you will see a list of water features. Each water feature can be individually configured to be included in or excluded from Freeze Protection.
The Attendant also has a unique ability to winterize certain specific water features or bodies of water while keeping others active. A good example of when this is useful is a situation where the main pool gets winterized but the spa may be left running for the winter.
If you wish to use this capability, toggle the Winterized option on any given water feature or body of water while in Installer Mode. When you do this, the system will prevent you from activating any controls associated with those winterized bodies or features.
Checking the Status or Pausing Freeze Protection Mode
When Freeze Protection mode actively starts up, you will see a message in the mobile app letting you know. You can review the current path of water that is being protected by viewing the alert mobile app displays and also from Freeze Protection status page.
While in normal mode, if you click on the hamburger menu and go to Maintenance followed by Freeze Protection, you can see how the system will (or is) route water when it gets too cold. In configurations that have valve actuators, you can see which actuator positions will be cycled to ensure all parts of the pool get water flowing through them regularly. You can also use this page to temporarily pause Freeze Protection mode should you need to.
You can pause Freeze Protection mode by pressing the blue “Pause” button and setting the amount of time to pause. Options range from 15 minutes to 4 hours. Once this time elapses, Freeze Protection mode will be re-enabled.
Reviewing the History of Freeze Protection
You can view when Freeze Protection is active by looking at the Alerts & History section of the mobile app. There you will see a history of events that have taken place.
Freeze Protection vs. Winterizing Your Pool
Winterizing a pool, most commonly referred to as “closing” the pool, is the act of shutting down all or portions of a pool or it’s water features (fountains, laminars, spillovers, etc.). During this process, the pool professional will ensure that the water is properly balanced, water is blown from plumbing lines and equipment like pumps and heaters, and will take other measures like adding an antifreeze agent where needed to ensure that freezing temperatures don’t cause damage.
Winterizing is common in northern climates that experience colder winter seasons. Freeze Protection is more commonly used in moderate climates where it doesn’t typically get that cold, but could occasionally.
Freeze Protection helps to prevent the water from freezing in the features of the pool that remain open – not the winterized parts – and this can help extend your pool season or eliminate the need to “close” the pool completely.
If you wish to use this capability, toggle the Winterized option on any given water feature or body of water while in Installer Mode. When you do this, the system will prevent you from activating any controls associated with those winterized bodies or features.