Pool covers (solar)

[bssage]

It seems to me, that there is a fair amount of really useless information about "Solar Covers" on the internet. As the saying goes opinions are like ___holes (everyone has one).

It also seems to me, that if a person had the means. It would be fairly simple to reach a real answer to the question's, Black, Clear,, Blue,,,thickness effect on water temp ect. . .

Surely someone on the forum owns a pool supply store, or has a buddy that does and could do some fairly simple experiments with material swatches to see conclusively which color's or thickness add value to the purchase?

My opinion (ha) would be that the transparent/black would allow light and absorb heat. But honestly, it's just a guess.

Anybody want to step up to the plate on this question?

[JimK]

...As the saying goes opinions are like ___holes (everyone has one)....

Lol! Yes, and they all stink! Lol!

My guess would be that a clear cover would work best. It seems black would just be effective in heating the cover itself, while clear would allow the water to absorb more heat. Of course part of a solar cover's effectiveness comes from preventing evaporation which robs the water of heat; any color cover will do that.

Just my guess.

[bssage]

Well until someone will test the theories. I guess we can discuss them. I agree the clear/black will be most effective heating the black plastic. But I also suspect the radiant heat coming from the black would be a more significant source of heat than clear. I agree that using the term "Solar Cover" is a little misleading, as the greatest benefit would come from restricting evaporation.

Back to the point of the OP. All of this really does not need to be subjective. If I had different samples all I would need is dishes of measured water and a digital thermometer. Then scale the results to a pool sized equivalent, or a factor to be used per gal, and everyone would a useful answer. It might even create a completely different answer.

[FormerBromineUser]

Go for it! My own experience with auto-covers seems to be that darker is better for heat generation. Auto-covers don't let the light pass through so not good for comparison there.

However, I went from a light color to dark (same thickness) and subjectively, there seemed to be a greater heat increase with the dark.

[kelemvor]

Solar pool covers have been studied by the US Department of Energy and are considered to be the best way to heat your pool. They don't work as much by getting hot and heating the water as they do by preventing evaporative heat loss over a large surface area. Here's a good read on the subject: http://energy.gov/energysaver/articl...ng-pool-covers

They do indicate that a completely transparent cover will work best in that article.

My personal experience is only with a blue one. It was a big pain in the butt and I stopped using a cover after one season.

[bssage]

and my last one was a PITA. I am thinking about slicing my next one in four pieces. Make it a one person job putting it in and taking it out. It may not be "As" efficient as one piece. But I figure I would be more likely to use it more often if it was less of a job. I'm reading your research link now. Thanks