Cut Costs With A Solar Pool Heater
Heating swimming pools with solar energy is a less traditional method. However, the most dominant application of solar warming of water is for heating swimming pools in the United States, Canada and Australia. Solar technologies are widely described as either active solar or passive solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. For the use in heating swimming pools active solar techniques are utilized. The technique of using solar thermal panels (with electrical equipment, ie. water pump) to convert sunlight into useful output is a great way to supplement heating a pool naturally.
An obvious benefit to heating your pool with solar energy is you are supplementing the suns’ ability to do just that by merely collecting energy from the sun itself. While solar heating is not a traditional way to heat a swimming pool the function of a solar pool heater is fairly basic. You will need the following equipment: solar collectors, a water pump and the sun of course. The area you have to work with is of great importance since the size of the solar collectors needs to be of the same square footage or at least 50% of the surface depending on the amount of sun focus your landscape offers. You will want to place the collectors in the sunniest areas where the sun reaches the majority of the day. If your space is limited and lacks the area for placement of the solar panels then you should know before going any further that heating your swimming pool with solar heat may not be the best option. The water pump has a strategic purpose in its’ job to aid the heating of your pool. The water pump directs the pool water through the solar panels. During this process the water is warmed from the heat collected in the panels and then returned to the pool warming the existing pool water. As this process continues the suns’ energy retained in the solar collectors is continuously heating the pools’ water. Another point to remember is by running your solar system steadily on hot and sunny days will enable you to heat your pool more efficiently. The opposite is true on cooler and cloudy days. This is because the temperatures trapped by the solar collectors would be cooler and hence perform the opposite task of warming, end result would be cooling the water.
There are two types of solar water heating collectors used for swimming pools; flat-plate and evacuated tube. The choices for non-potable (meaning not suitable for drinking) pool water use are mostly made of plastic. The use of chlorine/salt causes the pool water to become mildly corrosive. The water is pumped through the solar panels by way of the main pump (or supplemental pump) or the existing pool filter. In the case of evacuated tube solar panels the water is not pumped through them, clean water is heated via the transfer of heat from a heat exchanger. With the evacuated tube panels there is less corrosion. A temperature controller direct the water to panels/heat exchanger by turning a valve or pump operation.
The perfect complement to heating with solar panels is adding a pool cover to the equation. The cover will aid in trapping the heat in the pool; slowing down the loss of warmth. It is a known fact that heat rises. This explains why in a two-story home the second level will naturally be warmer than the downstairs level any time of the year. There are a couple of other benefits to incorporating a pool cover, 1) Your system would operate more efficiently, reducing your electric/gas expenses. 2) Would lessen the need to clean your swimming pool as often as in the past. There are pool covers with built in pockets that absorb and maintain heat provided from the sun. There are referred to as solar blankets. If your pool area receives a minimum of 5 hours of sunlight daily the solar blanket would increase your pools’ temperature by at least 1 degree per day up to 8 degrees (losing any further heat gain beyond this point). You may find these solar pool blankets to be more expensive; however, worth the additional cost.
Using a pool cover accomplishes several things: 1) Cuts way down on the amount of algae growth and the chemicals used to control and eliminate such particles. Therefore your saving monies on your chemical costs and labor. The pool cover whether solar or non-solar works as a net in catching fallen trash/debris of any kind.
You may find your purchase costs to be higher up front when going with a solar energy system. But, overall I believe you will find that you end up recovering your initial monies and will continue to reduce your electrical/gas bills. Just a reminder, do not forget the monetary advantages of adding a solar or non-solar pool cover to your system. Hope this article has assisted in some way and bravo with choosing a more environmentally friendly system.
With many years experience in swimming pool construction John Harris now enjoys writing articles about gunite swimming pools.