Solar Pool Heater
 

We recently purchased a solar pool heater from Solar Trek, Inc. out of Ocala. They lead us to believe it would keep our pool warm year round. SURPRISE, it doesn't work good in the winter, the only time we are in FL.

We then found out they didn't get the permit required for this work. We also discovered that they had not attached to the roof properly. The Sumter County inspector made them come back, and they had to reinstall nearly the whole system. SURPRISE, they did it wrong a second time! Now they want to patch all the old holes they left in our 3-year-old roof. Never ending saga. DON'T USE THIS COMPANY!

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As an engineer, if you do the research and see how effective these systems are, you quickly realize they are a waste of money. They work great when you don't need them (summer), a little in early fall/late spring, and can't heat adequately when you really need them (about 4 months at end of year/beginning of year).

If you install a solar heater, you still need a supplemental heat source (electric is most cost effective here in FL due to the price of gas vs electric). Calculating the costs, you'll never recover the $5k for the solar over the life of the system. You're better off just going with an electric or gas heater. I keep my pool at 88 all winter. No issues.

In addition, when you need any work done on your roof, you'll need to pay someone to remove the solar system, do the repair, then pay again to have it installed again. And each time you open more holes in the roof, and hope your system doesn't leak or cause a leak.

Just buy enough stock in the power company for the dividends to pay your electric bill.

And yet - there are homes in the north that use solar for their entire electrical system in their homes all year 'round. Granted, some of them also have fireplaces or wood stoves to supplement on the worst of days (or just for ambiance) but not all of them do. There are homes in Oregon that are 100% powered by solar, completely and totally off the grid.

There's an entire municipality in Connecticut (North Haven) that powers most of its municipal buildings with a single solar farm placed atop an old landfill. They have generators for emergencies such as nor'easters but otherwise the solar works just fine. It's kept the costs of running the town down and saved taxpayers millions of dollars over the time the system has been running.

I'd suggest that the reason it's so inefficient here, is because the people who install them are doing a bad job and/or the roof construction is not sufficient for installation of solar panels - and not because solar is a bad option. This state gets plenty of sun all year. The only time it'd be inefficient is on days when it's cloudy during the entirety of the daylight hours with few or no breaks in the clouds.

Solar to generate electric (solar panels) and solar to heat pools are totally different systems. The solar pool heater is in effect a water pipe and bag system that lays on the roof and water moves across the roof to absorb the heat from the sun. The system is black since black absorbs most of the sun's rays. There is no electrical generation with solar pool heater and no electrical storage. As the pool water is pumped and filtered, the water is heated on the roof and pumped back into the pool.

So if you can afford a solar system for your home, a fireplace or wood burning stove with scrubbers because everyone knows how dirty they are, the wood for burning, capability to care and manage said wood and then buy a generator, you’re home free to save the planet. (Backup heat sources are used more than indicated in solar situations in the northern areas of the US.)

I think the main different between solar HOT WATER heaters up north and here is the ones I saw up north were in INSULATED enclosures, glass front, and insulation on the back, the systems I see here are just black tubing on the roof, and in cold weather I am guessing you lose a lot of the heating due to the lack of insulation and enclosure. In any case I tend to agree with above comments, as I saw my neighbor had theirs removed recently. It was installed by previous owners and was about 8 years old.

This is not about solar panels that generate electricity. This is about a solar heater for a pool - where they put a panel on the roof that runs water through the panels (usually small black tubes), the sun warms up the tubes, which in turn warms up the water that is then returned to the pool. These systems do not work when you need them to. They can't raise the temp fast enough, and can't keep up when it gets cooler.

Solar panels are a completely different system. They do work, and can power a home (and potentially an electric heater for a pool). However, with the exorbitant cost to install, a home owner will never break even. Basic math in a spreadsheet will show that. I've heard folks say it's fantastic, I pay nothing each month... but they leave out the $25K it cost to install... how long before that's paid back? Not in what's left of my lifetime.

I would love to see solar work, especially here in Florida. The current technology and cost is simply not there yet.

Thank you for bringing the OP's post back on point.

Two different systems a solar panel produces electricity a solar heater Just passes water through a black panel.

much like the engineer said.... but with additional Florida input. Solar works easily to keep a pool at 92 year round DEPENDING ON LOCATION. For this area I really wouldn't lean on solar on the coast yes but not "up north" here. Also what it does to your roof... yeesh.

Propane heaters work the quickest. Electric for the average Florida pool can take over a day to get it up to temp meaning recovery from a 33 degree night will take a long while. We have considered electric heaters a waste of money since once a pool goes in the electric bill goes up, electric heater (the one time we tried it) added another $200 to the already high electric bill.

Just some food for thought.

Covering the pool will help
 

I decided that I would cover my pool to help with the solar heater. It raised the temperature during the winter to the point where I could use it every day.
I soon stopped removing the cover and only pushed it back so I used only part of the pool.
After that I just removed the cover and put in the garage then to the trash.
My next pool will be compatible with an electrical pool roller type cover. Not a kidney shaped pool with uneven edges.

Jack’s solar
 

Jack’s Solar (352) 267-4903.

Local company. Used by T&D Pool and Spa. T&D has a new name, but they’re still the best pool company in The Villages.

The solar heater installed by Jack’s performed flawlessly for a little less than ten years until a small PVC valve cracked. Their service man came out the same day I called and replaced it at no charge. I was amazed when he told me their system had a 10-year warranty!

The temperature you’ll be able to achieve depends on the number of solar panels on your roof. We have seven panels and even in cold weather like we recently experienced our pool stayed no cooler than 75-degrees. In warmer weather, even warmer.

Thank you
 

I'm learning now that everything you are saying is true. They have reinstalled the system because of inspection violations. It's still not correct. Trying to get my money back and roof replaced. They have drilled over 50 holes in my roof. They are patching the abandoned holes with sealer. I fear they will leak, and also affect the value of my home. Ongoing saga.

They are not electric
 

They are not electric