Solar Panel Question

[Islander2C]

Hello everyone. We own a 27ft AG pool and are interested in getting some information on Solar Panels for heating the pool. Can anyone advise where I can get more information on installation, how many we will need etc. or anyone who uses them with their pool who would like to post advice I would appreciate it.
Thanks

[MaxxFusion]

I havent used one yet but will be installing one this season. I already bought one off ebay. I have a 24 ag pool and went with a 4x20. I have been doing research on them since the fall and in the old forum I got a lot of good feedback on them and they seem well worth the money. To really make them work well you need a solar cover to keep the heating in at night.

[mwsmith2]

I believe that the maunfacturer's sites provide sizing data for the panels. One thing you are going to need to know is the square feet of surface area of your pool, which is pretty easy to figure for a round pool. Also, you are going to need to have the panels facing south for best efficiency at a 45 degree angle, especially in the northern lattitudes.

Michael

[CarlD]

They are VERY easy to install. I suspect two 4x20 panels will be great for you. Remember: The more water flows through them, the better they work. If, on a blistering hot, sunny day, the panels are cool or only mildly warm, then they are doing there job. If they are hot, they aren't flowing enough water and it will take longer to heat your pool.

[matt4x4]

Really easy to install, Instead of all these fancy valves, I just put my pool on a timer - on at 9:00 when the sun hits the panels, off at 6:00 when it leaves the panels, the water coming out on a sunny day is very warm, almost hot.
2 4x20's should do you fine.
I made mine so I can disconnect two unions and completely remove the panels from the equation, but you can achieve the same with two directional valves and it would be less work.
The reason you may want to remove the panels from the equation (bypass) is that you get better back pressure for your vac without the panels on the system, or on a cloudy, rainy day you may want to circulate the water without running it through the panels since they can also remove heat from the water if the air temp is lower than the water temp and sun is not warming the panels.
If you also want to circulate the water at night is another reason to bypass...

[cnk]

How much do the panels usually raise the temperature?

[JohnT]

How much do the panels usually raise the temperature?

Depends on where you live and how long they get direct sunlight in a day.

[CarlD]

Yup. Depends.

My parents had an 18x33 oval A/G that held almost 14,000 gallons. The site only got 6 hours direct sun a day. They were miserable because the pool never hit 80 all summer. Then I installed 2 panels, a 4x20 and a 10x20. On only six hours a day, using 1/2 of what is "recommended", the pool stayed at 84-85 degrees all summer! They were thrilled!

You don't need the "recommended" amount of panels--you can always add in more, easily, if you find what you have isn't sufficient. Had Mom and Dad had 12hours of direct sun a day, the 4x20 panel alone would probably have been enough.

Since I had their panels on the ground, they kept working after the sun passed. The ground acted as a heat sink and kept putting heat back into the panels. Remember: As long as the water from the panels is warmer than the pool, it's helping. Even if it's only one degree warmer, it's adding heat and BTUs are what you need, not raw temperature.

[matt4x4]

We installed ours last year (1/3 of what we need optimally), now mind you, we had an extremely hot summer, but running them during the daytime kept our pool at or near 90 degrees all summer and extended our season by a total of a month.

[kaybinster]

The panels take up a lot of space, and create a good deal of backpressure so your pump will not circulate as much water as it is supposed to. Further, an IG pool is going to require a lot more surface area. You really need about the same surface area in panels as your pool has, if not more. Further, they won't do much for you in the early spring and late fall when you really need the most heating. Heck, my heating needs during July and August in NJ are almost zero anyway with a cover on the pool at night.

What I have is an electric heatpump which extracts "free" heat out of the air and dumps it in the pool. I have PV solar panels on my roof which generate electricity. My 10kw system generates about 12,000 kwh per year. Here in NJ there is a great rebate program on solar electric systems where the state pays about 60% of the system cost. When I installed mine they were paying 70%. I figure the system will pay for itself in just under 4 years, after that its a cash cow.

I have time-of-day metering for my electric, so we pay higher rates during peak periods and low rates at off peak time. I run the heat pump at nights and on weekends when power is cheap. The PV system spins my meter backward during the day when power rates are high. This is probably the most efficient overall system to have.