Running a commercial or public pool means juggling safety, cleanliness, and compliance every single day. One of the most critical, and often challenging, responsibilities is maintaining healthy, balanced water chemistry. Improper levels of chlorine, pH, and other chemicals can quickly lead to cloudy water, equipment damage, or worse, unsafe swimming conditions.

This responsibility can also take a tremendous amount of knowledge and ability, training, and time. So it makes sense that pool owners and operators would look to technology and automation to help. Ahead, we’ll take you through the pros and cons of an automated pool chemical monitor and dispenser, including how they work and what types of pools they make sense for.

What Is an Automated Pool Chemical Monitor and Dispenser?

An automated chemical monitoring system continuously checks your pool’s chemical levels. These systems typically use sensors to monitor pH, chlorine (or other sanitizers), and sometimes additional parameters like ORP (oxidation-reduction potential), alkalinity, and temperature.

They also often include dispensers for automatic adjustment of water chemicals such as disinfectant (usually chlorine) and other chemicals. When a pool uses a monitor and dispenser system, you rely on its sensors to obtain the water’s chemistry quality data. This data is then used to calculate out ideal amounts of chlorine, acid and even cyanuric acid (also called pool stabilizer). 

Benefits of Using an Automatic Pool Chemical Dispenser for Commercial Pools

1. Consistent Water Quality
   Manual testing leaves pool test results open to a large degree of human error, which can lead to fluctuations in water chemistry, especially if the pool is heavily used. Automation ensures real-time adjustments, resulting in consistently clean and safe water.
2. Labor Savings
   While these systems don’t eliminate the need for human oversight, they significantly reduce the time staff must spend testing, and adjusting chemical levels. That frees your team to focus on customer service, maintenance, or other operational needs.
3. Cost Efficiency
   Although the upfront investment can be significant, the long-term savings on chemicals (through more precise dosing) and reduced staff hours often justify the cost. Plus, avoiding pool closures or emergency cleanups due to chemical imbalances can save even more.
4. Equipment Protection
   Imbalanced water not only impacts the health of your pool’s swimmers, it can also damage or corrode pool surfaces, plumbing, and expensive mechanical systems. Automation helps protect your investment by maintaining optimal water balance.

Potential Drawbacks of Using an Automatic Pool Chemical Dispenser for Commercial Pools

1. Initial Cost
   Automated systems aren’t cheap. Depending on your pool size and system complexity, initial setup can cost several thousand dollars. However, depending on your typical operational costs, your facility may still find the ROI attractive.
2. Maintenance Needs
   While they reduce daily chemical maintenance, these systems still require calibration, occasional repairs, and sensor replacements. Partnering with a knowledgeable pool service provider is key to keeping your system running smoothly.
3. Over-Reliance on Technology
   No system is foolproof. Operators should still–and are typically required to–perform daily manual checks and understand basic water chemistry in case the system fails or gives inconsistent readings. Check with your local health department for manual testing frequency. Often a minimum of 2 manual water chemical tests are required daily.
4. Over-Dosing is Still Possible
   While automated pool chemical monitors and dispensers do indeed check and dispense many different water parameters and chemical levels, they may not be the right choice for every chemical you need in your pool water. For example, cyarunic acid (CYA), or pool stabilizer, does not degrade at the same rate as chlorine. If you use an automated dispenser to add stabilized chlorine, which has cyarunic acid already added to it, it can cause issues.

This is because the  CYA stays in the water and every time you add more stabilized chlorine, its levels add up until it “locks up” the chlorine. Over time, it will take more added chlorine to reach the same level of sanitizing ability. In most cases, whether it’s automatically dispensed or not, it’s best advised to add unstabilized chlorine separately from pool stabilizer. This gives you the most control over levels.

You Still Need Pool Logs and Physical Water Tests 

Public and commercial pool maintenance and operations are governed by strict rules and regulations across the country, and vary from state to state. While it’s always a best practice to be familiar with your local and regional regulations, all states and counties require human oversight when it comes to water testing and record keeping. The CDC’s Model Aquatic Code recommends that a “qualified operator” should ensure a water sample is acquired for testing, and compared to assess water quality variability. 

That means that while automated pool monitors and dispensers are helpful for maintenance, and often recommended for most commercial water facilities, you still need staff members to perform required water tests, as well as to record the results for Health Department compliance. This level of oversight also ensures you and pool operations staff have a good working knowledge of overall water quality and any issues.

This is where Pool Shark H2O comes in. Our software will log pool water parameters and automatically perform the complex chemical math equations for you and your staff, eliminating human error and guesswork while also verifying your automated monitor system’s results and adjustments. 

When paired with the LaMotte WaterLink Spin Touch digital pool test kit, it does all of this in 60 seconds–saving you a tremendous amount of time. These results and adjustments are then also digitally recorded and locked, ensuring Health Department compliance and legal verification. These digital records can also be accessed from anywhere, making it easy for pool managers and owners to stay on top of how your pool systems are performing, and respond to any urgent alerts. 

Is an Automated Pool Chemical Monitor and Dispenser Right for Your Pool?

Automated chemical control systems are ideal for:

• High-traffic commercial pools, such as at hotels, gyms, waterparks, and municipal pools 
• Facilities with strategic goals to operational risk and liability
• Pools where staffing is limited or inconsistent
• Operators seeking more efficient regulatory compliance

If your pool is small, lightly used, or already well-managed with manual methods, the cost of automation might not pay off immediately. But for many commercial operators, the peace of mind and professional consistency are worth the investment. 

Final Thoughts on Using an Automatic Pool Chemical Dispenser for Commercial Pools

Water chemistry and quality isn’t something you can afford to get wrong, especially in a commercial or public setting. An automated pool chemical monitor and dispenser can help ensure your pool remains safe, inviting, and operational with less manual intervention and more precision.

Whether or not you do use one, you still need to take that extra step of human monitoring and oversight–which is where the PoolShark H2O app can still save you time and money, while significantly lowering your risk for error and compliance violations.