Need opinions on solar heating possibilities

[chem geek]

If your pool is exposed to sunlight, then about 60% of the sun's energy gets absorbed by the water (assuming white plaster; it's higher if you have dark vinyl). With an average pool depth of 4.5 feet, this would be a heating of around 0.7ºF per hour.

Your panels are about half the square footage of the pool, but would be around 80% efficient, so would be expected to be additional heating at around 0.5ºF per hour.

However, if the pool is uncovered, then heat loss from evaporation can be substantial with a 1/4" loss representing almost 5ºF. This means that using a pool cover makes a BIG difference in how much you can heat your pool. If you use a pool cover and solar panels, you get the most benefit.

This post of mine shows that with an opaque thin safety cover and solar panels that are around 80% of the pool surface area, I'm able to get at least a 25ºF water temperature above the average air temperature in the summer (avg. temp now around 60-65ºF and the pool is 87-90ºF). If you used a clear bubble-type solar cover, you could probably get a 30ºF water temperature above the average air temperature, or maybe even more. If you don't use a pool cover, then I would guess that you will only have a 15ºF increase in temp., maybe 20ºF, and it would depend a lot on your humidity and wind.

Carl, do you use a pool cover?

Richard

[wilcfr]

We have an solid color safety cover on the pool. We keep it closed early in the season. During mid summer we tend to leave it open 24/7 because it seems to help with some alkalinity problems we used to have. Of course this summer due to global warming we have had to run the heater everyday except 5 since mid May and keep the cover closed just to keep the pool swimmable. Do the clear solar cover really work that well. I know when we keep the cover closed when the temps are up the pool can get up to 90+ in a day or two with no assistance.

[CarlD]

Yes, solar covers work, and clear ones work best. It's just like a greenhouse. The thicker ones let the light in just as well, but insulate a bit better.

My problem is the expensive thick clear ones only last the same three years as the thinner blue ones that cost 1/3 as much. Yes they work better, but not THAT much better.

It's fairly futile to attempt to solar heat your pool without a solar cover, any solar cover unless you get, as Richard says, SO much panel that it's almost the surface area of the pool. But with a solar cover, 1/3 the surface of the pool (like mine) can be very effective.

As long as you have sunshine, that is....................

[wilcfr]

Ah there is the rub. This year has been a very cool, raining cloudy year so far. Our heat pump has been working a lot to keep the temps up. Solar would have been worthless this year.

[JohnT]

A data point for your info. My situation is a little different from you, but I hope the info is useful. I'm ~75 miles south of you. I have a 20X36 IG pool, with 6 4X8 panels for a total of 192 sq-ft. I can usually easily stay at 88-90 degrees most of the pool season with a solar cover on at night. This year has been tougher than last year, but I have never dropped below 84 since we started swimming.

[wilcfr]

John,

You must live somewhere around Seymour my home town. Like I said our biggest problem this year has been rain and more rain with the accompanying clouds and cool weather. Our poor old heat pump has been really overworked this season. We didn't replace it this year because it usually only runs until the first of June or about 3-4 weeks, but this year it has seldom stopped running except during our mini-heatwave last week. Of course then on the 4th we have the coolest high temp in Indy on the 4th for the second year in a row. Where is the global warming I was promised .

[CarlD]

Without getting into the fact that this IS due to that "global warming", without sunshine solar heating just doesn't work very well.

But it doesn't take more than 2 or 3 days of sun to bring it back to toasty--and the last couple of days have seen my pool go into the high 80's again!