Solar cover on or off during day to gain heat?

[columbusdan]

If I am wanting my pool to heat up as fast as possible (save for having a heater), is it best to leave solar cover OFF during the day and cover at night to retain heat, or leave it on all the time until desired temp is achieved? I ask because I was reading posts on here where everyone says the solar cover is really for retaining heat, rather than creating it.

[BigDave]

Can't ask a dumb question; a question not asked is another story.

I can't provide a clear answer to your question, but I can say that evaporation will cool the water so breezy and dry call for the cover. The pool lose less heat when covered when the air is cool and there is no sun. Cold rain will cool the pool covered or not. On the other hand, the solar blanket would slow heat transferred from hot air and radiant heat from the sun. Where the balance is I can't say.

For what it's worth, I keep the blanket on when we're not using the pool.

[columbusdan]

Thanks for reply...my kids have been bugging me to swim, but water temp just isn't there yet. I am not going to take the cover on and off trying to maximize heating....just making sure I wasn't thinking about this wrong.

[Watermom]

Like Dave, I also keep my cover on during the day when we aren't swimming.

By the way, I renamed your thread to be more about the topic to help it be more searchable for others. :)

[gonzapa]

I basically have the same question as I want the temperature as high as possible and no one uses the pool till 5 pm in the afternon

[CarlD]

I believe that convection and evaporation will cost you more heat during the day than you gain by reducing exposure to sunlight. I see my clear cover as a greenhouse--the cover prevents convection heat leaving and reduces evaporation.