Pool Modes¶

Pool Manager supports five operational modes, selectable via the select.{pool}_mode entity. Each mode adapts filtration duration and rule behavior to the current season or pool status.

The modes follow a natural lifecycle:

Active → Hibernating → Active Wintering / Passive Wintering → Activating → Active

Active¶

Normal season operation. This is the default mode.

Filtration¶

Filtration duration is computed using a multi-factor algorithm that combines water temperature, filter type efficiency, outdoor temperature, and pump capacity.

Step 1: Base rule (temperature / 2)¶

The classic temperature / 2 rule from the French pool industry:

• A pool at 26 °C gets a base of 13 hours
• A pool at 18 °C gets a base of 9 hours

This rule reflects the relationship between water temperature and biological activity: warmer water promotes faster algae and bacteria growth, requiring longer filtration to maintain clarity.

Sources: iopool, hth, Swim University

Step 2: Filter efficiency adjustment¶

The base duration is multiplied by a coefficient based on your filter type. More efficient filters (finer micron rating) can achieve the same water clarity in less time:

Sources: Micron ratings from In The Swim, Crush Pools, Leslie's Pool

Step 3: Outdoor temperature heat stress¶

When outdoor temperature exceeds 28 °C, each additional degree increases filtration duration by 5% to compensate for:

• Accelerated algae growth due to ambient heat
• Faster UV-driven chlorine degradation
• Increased bather load (more swimming in hot weather)

This adjustment is only applied when an outdoor temperature sensor or weather entity is configured. If neither is available, this step is skipped.

Sources: Zodiac Pool Care, Leslie's Pool, In The Swim

Step 4: Turnover guarantee¶

The duration is adjusted to ensure at least one full water volume turnover based on your pump flow rate:

The final duration is the greater of the adjusted temperature-based duration and the turnover time.

Step 5: Clamping¶

The result is bounded between 2 hours minimum and 24 hours maximum.

Rules¶

All rules are active: pH, sanitizer/ORP, free chlorine, filtration, TAC, algae risk, CYA, hardness, salt, TDS, and calibration.

Hibernating¶

Transition mode used when preparing the pool for winter. The pool is still operational but the system is being shut down progressively. Typical tasks during this phase include:

• Lowering the water level
• Cleaning the filter and skimmers
• Adding winterizing product
• Covering the pool

Hibernation wizard¶

Pool Manager provides a guided Hibernation wizard to walk you through the winterizing process in two sessions:

Session 1 — Start hibernation¶

1. Open the config entry and select Start hibernation from the subentry actions.
2. Choose your target wintering mode:
3. Passive wintering — full shutdown, no filtration or monitoring.
4. Active wintering — reduced operation with 4 hours daily filtration and active chemistry rules.
5. The wizard creates a hibernation subentry and immediately sets the pool mode to Hibernating.

Session 2 — Complete hibernation¶

1. Once you have performed all winterizing tasks, open the hibernation subentry and select Complete hibernation (reconfigure).
2. Review the checklist of recommended actions and confirm completion.
3. The pool transitions to your chosen winter mode and the subentry is marked as completed with a timestamp.

The completed subentry remains as a record of when the pool was winterized.

Hibernating filtration¶

Fixed at 4 hours per day, regardless of water temperature. This keeps water circulating while the pool is being prepared.

Hibernating rules¶

All chemistry rules remain active. The pool still needs monitoring during the transition to catch any issues before full shutdown.

Active Wintering¶

Reduced operation during cold months when the pool is covered but the system remains partially active. The pool is not usable for swimming in this mode.

Active wintering filtration¶

Filtration duration uses a temperature / 3 formula adapted for winter conditions:

1. Base rule: water temperature / 3 (industry standard for active wintering, roughly two-thirds less than summer operation)
2. Filter efficiency: same coefficient as active mode
3. Turnover guarantee: ensures at least one full volume cycle
4. Clamping: bounded between 2 h and 24 h

Outdoor temperature heat stress is not applied (not relevant in winter).

If no temperature reading is available, the duration falls back to a fixed 4 hours per day.

Source: Beatbot -- Active wintering guide

Active wintering rules¶

Most chemistry rules are disabled -- only pH monitoring and sensor calibration checks remain active:

Passive Wintering¶

Pool is fully shut down and winterized.

Passive wintering filtration¶

Set to 0 hours. No filtration is recommended.

Passive wintering rules¶

All chemistry rules are disabled. No recommendations are generated in this mode.

Activating¶

Transition mode used when bringing the pool out of hibernation. The pool is not yet ready for swimming and typically requires:

• Removing the cover
• Raising the water level
• Cleaning the pool and filter
• Shock treatment
• Intensive filtration to restore water clarity

Activation Wizard¶

Pool Manager provides a guided Activation wizard to walk you through the activation process. Like the hibernation wizard, it uses a two-session subentry flow.

Session 1 — Start activation¶

1. Open the config entry and select Start activation from the subentry actions.
2. The pool must be in Hibernating, Active Wintering, or Passive Wintering mode.
3. Review the list of required steps and confirm to start.
4. The wizard creates an activation subentry and immediately sets the pool mode to Activating.

Session 2 — Complete activation¶

Once all five steps have been confirmed (via the service or auto-detection), open the activation subentry and select View activation progress (reconfigure). If all steps are done, confirm to finalize.

The pool transitions to Active mode and the subentry is marked as completed with a timestamp.

Wizard steps¶

Steps can be confirmed in any order. The three manual steps require calling the poolman.confirm_activation_step service. The two auto-detectable steps are confirmed automatically:

• Shock treatment is auto-confirmed when a shock product (chlore_choc, bromine_shock, or active_oxygen_activator) is recorded via the poolman.add_treatment service.
• Intensive filtration is auto-confirmed when a filtration cycle completes (the scheduler fires a filtration_stopped event).

When all five steps are confirmed, the pool mode automatically switches to Active and the activation checklist is cleared.

Progress is tracked via the sensor.{pool}_activation_step entity, which shows the current (next pending) step.

Confirming steps manually¶

Use the poolman.confirm_activation_step service:

service: poolman.confirm_activation_step
data:
  device_id: "<your_pool_device_id>"
  step: "remove_cover"

Valid step values: remove_cover, raise_water_level, clean_pool_and_filter, shock_treatment, intensive_filtration.

Persistence¶

The activation state is persisted in the activation subentry data. On Home Assistant restart, the pool mode is automatically restored to Activating if an uncompleted activation subentry is found. The checklist step state is rebuilt from the persisted subentry data, so already-confirmed steps are preserved across restarts.

Activating filtration¶

Uses the full dynamic multi-factor algorithm (same as active mode). The pool needs intensive filtration to restore water quality after the winter period.

Activating rules¶

All chemistry rules are active. Close monitoring is essential during this phase to bring water parameters back to safe levels.

Mode Comparison¶