Reduced Energy Pool Heating with Pool Solar Blankets
Solar heating is an extremely cost-effective method of heating a swimming pool, but the suitability of these systems is heavily dependent on your local climate. Most likely, you decided to own a swimming pool for a number of reasons, including recreation, fitness and entertainment. Therapeutic reasons may have also played a part in your decision. However, if your pool is not heated you may find that the water is often not warm enough for you to be able to enjoy using your pool comfortably. This will likely be particularly true at the beginning and the end of the normal swimming season. By heating your swimming pool, however, you can significantly extend the swimming season, allowing you and your family to get far more use and enjoyment out of your pool.
Please keep in mind that we live in South Carolina. This type of pool care may not be appropriate for much colder climates. If you live in the north and have an inground pool, please contact your local pool company and they will be able to recommend something appropriate for your colder climate.
Gas systems are perhaps the most simple. They burn natural gas or propane, and heat the pool’s water by drawing water through a filter into the heating unit. The water is heated via proximity to the unit’s combustion chamber.
Your heat pump runs on electricity. It requires 50 to 60 amps to run properly. Although it is much more economical to operate a heat pump, it heats your pool much slower than a gas-fired heater. Heat pumps are usually rated anywhere from 90,000 to 150,000 BTU’s, whereas a gas heater is typically between 250,000 to 400,000 BTU’s.
An automatic pool cover uses an electric motor to open and close the cover. The cover rides on a track system that is built into the top of the in-ground pool wall or deck. An automatic pool cover serves as the pool solar cover, winter cover and a safety cover that lasts for years.
When the pool has been heated to a predetermined temperature, the water is diverted around the heating system until the temperature drops. Most of these systems have very few moving parts and actually rely on the pool’s circulating pump to move the water through the system. Some of the more sophisticated solar pool heat systems can even be incorporated into your pool’s control system to allow you to manage the temperature as you would with a conventional heater.
The design of the best available solar pool covers for in-ground swimming pools not only incorporates advanced technology but remarkable durability as well. Constructed from tough resins with UV stabilization, these covers are built to last and to provide solar heating year after year. In addition, high-quality solar blankets feature reinforced, flat-lying seams that will resist wear and tear and withstand repeated folding for many years of use. Since these covers are available in a variety of different thicknesses, it’s also possible to have the benefit of further enhanced durability as thicker covers offer greater strength and toughness.
The explanation for this is that in the coldest months of the year, the solar power can be low, and the heat in the encompassing air can be quite low as well, so both the heat pump system and the solar power system can find that they do not generate enough heat all alone to raise the pool temperature. For this reason, a gas powered system is usually installed right after these heating systems in the circulation system, and is about to operate only way the temperature generated by the solar system or heat pump is not high enough. In this example, your gas bills are still extremely low because the majority of the time the gas heater it isn’t not operating, but when the pool temperature goes too low, the gas heater kicks in and gives a much-needed boost.
