Quote Originally Posted by Watermom View Post
equally important is to cover the pool with a solar blanket at night; otherwise you will lose all the heat to the atmosphere that your pool gained during the day.
TRUE THAT - I found that my pool loses 2-3 F at night during the summer when I leave the cover off --- I live in west-central Georgia.

I used a single panel by SunHeater for several years. It did well for the amount of sun it got (only 2-3 hours direct sun per day). We replaced it two years ago with a Hayward heat pump because we just didn't get enough direct sunlight near the pool (we live in the woods), and the pool is too far from the house to put the panel on the roof (2-story) to get above the trees. The wife didn't like the panel laying out on the deck around the pool.

That heat pump allowed us to swim in March and through October last year. Before that, the wife and kids didn't get in until June, and only swam until Labor Day. But it was much more expensive than the solar heater, and the heat pump continues to cost us every month we run it.

I still like to use a solar blanket to keep that heat in at night. The family doesn't like to have to move it, but it does save money!