Quote:
Originally Posted by Janicepyatt
A few questions about Solar Heating for the Pool:
1) Is it worth doing?
2) Issues?
3) A local contractor they could recommend - OR not recommend?
Jack's Solar?
Fun in the Sun?
Thanks in advance.
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How warm do you like your pool? I like to sit in my pool and read, and 92° is my preference. My pool is 15’ x 30’. I have a pretty large solar heating system. I also have a heat pump that comes on when needed. I also have a roll-up pool cover that looks like blue bubble wrap.
The solar water heating is terrific, but you should also buy a pool cover like mine and keep it on when you are not using the pool. It doesn’t really heat your pool, but it does hold in a lot of heat that would otherwise be lost. It also holds in a lot of water that would otherwise evaporate. My pool guy tells me that because of the cover, my pool only uses about half the salt used by neighboring pools. The combination of the solar heating and the cover keep my pool around 92° from May to October. That’s perfect for relaxing. (I don’t swim laps.) At the beginning of November I turned on my heat pump, which had been off all summer, to add some heat as necessary. Yesterday I complained to the pool guy that the pool was only 88°. He said that other pools without heat pumps now had water in the 60s or 70s. He said that maybe 88° is the best the heat pump can do. But I haven’t noticed it running very often, so I’m not sure.
I would say that unless you like a cold pool to cool you down on a hot summer day, solar heating and a cover are necessities. However, if you have those in use all year, but you are a Snowbird, the pool will still be too cold to use, so you might as well not have a pool at all. Last winter I turned off my heat pump, as I wasn’t using the pool. I love having my pool because of the way it looks, but it’s a money pit. Cleaning and chemicals costs $2,000 a year. Solar heating installation costs, what, about $6,000? That’s about what the heat pump cost, too. (I wouldn’t have just the heat pump without the solar heating. Even in the winter, on sunny days it adds a lot of heat.) I’ve just paid nearly $2,000 to replace a valve for the solar heating and to replace the solar cell that processes the salt. Also, that pool cover, it turns out, is only good for one season, due to the UV light that makes it break down. I’ve just ought a new one. That’s about $300 with installation.