Solar Heating for Pools

[bchbum]

Any of you pool owners have solar heating? Do you like it? Is there a dramatic savings? How long did it take to off set the costs? We are thinking about adding a pool and want some advice. Thanks for any suggestions.

[HOOTER SLED-]

Dude save your money and just get a bubble cover. That's what I would do. They even have those circle shaped pieces that float on the top and warm it pretty good. Alls your gonna do is extend your swim season. Shit, my pool is almost 90 degrees right now. But damn it's been hot and I'm in Corona.

[soupersonic]

A heater ? Damn i want a chiller !!! My pool is 92* right now. It feels better to get out than it does to get in

[HocusPocus]

we just use one of those thermal blankets and our pool was 86 degrees this afternoon and the cover was taken off this morning. we have several solar panels we never even bothered to set up.

[bchbum]

Okay , how about people that live near the coast . I'm only 6 miles from the ocean .My girls love to swim ,& are using all the above ground pools on the block .We've had them , just not good for the long term . :cool:

[dannyo]

I looked extensively into it and was ready to install solar and ultimately decided not to do it. For me, pool has been staying pretty warm and I too live on the coast and with the morning haze, been told solar won't kick in. However, when I was looking, I liked the Heliocol due to the 12 year warranty parts/labor and also no roof penetration.

[No Name]

Dude save your money and just get a bubble cover. That's what I would do. They even have those circle shaped pieces that float on the top and warm it pretty good. Alls your gonna do is extend your swim season. Shit, my pool is almost 90 degrees right now. But damn it's been hot and I'm in Corona.
I have to agree the solar blanket is the ticket.

[YeLLowBoaT]

If you do plan on getting one. spend the extra coin to add a bipass to the system. I know a few ppl that have not had one installed... lets just say the pool does not get used very much in the summer...

[NorCal Gameshow]

solar is the ticket...right now you would bypass it like I didn't.(104degrees) :hammer2:
in the spring and fall. it extends your swimming season.

[ROZ]

The whole idea behind solar, like someone noted, is to extend your swim season. I have customers who swim in 80 degree water in from mid to early March, and end the swim season in mid to late November ... depending on when the first really cold nights occur. Last October my nonsolar pool went from 78-65 degrees overnight due to a severe drop in temps.
Bubble covers will increase your pool water temp by 7-10 degrees... In June a customer of mine purchased one to heat her pool for her son's birthday party. She's on propane, so the cost of gas vs the cover was a no brainer. No cover to retail heat and a still chilli Ramona evening the pool would have lost 5-8 degrees overnight .. We put it on for 2 days. She went from 78 to 89 degrees... The major downfall to a bubble cover is that 1. all covers are a pain in the ass for you and your pool guy to remove, 2. heat up water and provide shade for algae to bloom, 3. can cause misreading of chenicals, 4. All the dirt and leaves that blow onto the cover while it's on will fall into the water when you pull it off. That means someone has to clean your pool everytime the cover is removed.. If someone plans to use one, leave it off for 3 days out of the week.. Easiest is to take it off on thursday night or Friday, and put it back on Sunday eve or Monday.. I charge my customer an extra 20.00 per month to remove the cover each weekly visit. So I pull it off on Fridays, and her son puts it back on sometime after the weekend.. Their pool has been 90degrees without it, so they've left it off for about a month now...
The color of your plaster(or whatever material you use) will make a huge difference. I sercive 2 pools that are next door to each other. Once pool has a light gray plaster, the other pool has a really dark gray plaster. Saturday morning the light gray pool was 86 and the dark gray pool was 93 degrees.
My pool is sandybeach pebble causing the water to be a lagoonish greenish blue. The temp was 89 degrees at 8:30 tonight.. I won't lie, it felt good; I'll take a quick dip to cool off right before bed, too :)
I have a question:
What direction will the pool face? If the pool is on the north side of a 2 story home, a portion, if not all, of the pool will be shaded most of the year. Solar panels will defenitely help out in this case... Marine layer is a good and bad thing. Totally effecient solar may not end up being optimum, but the overnight heat loss will be decreased because of it.. Who knows, maybe it's a wash...
Either way, heating the water to the same temp will be a lot cheaper solar vs natural gas 400,000 btu heater :D Besides, your city may require you to have it... Pool company will have to stub out for it for sure..
Anyways, I hope this helps..
Plan your pool smart,. and you'll be much happier years down the road :)

[Trailer Park Casanova]

I found bypassing it would let it cool a bit and I had to use less chemicals for alge control thus easier to ballance the ph too which is most essential.

[ROZ]

I found bypassing it would let it cool a bit and I had to use less chemicals for alge control thus easier to ballance the ph too which is most essential.
Absolutely correct TPC!
Another thing I should have added...Saltwater pools are not chemical less .. Homeowner may not have to pour chlorine into his pool on a regular basis, BUT you have to maintain the ph.. And theses types of pool systems use more acid..

[YeLLowBoaT]

Absolutely correct TPC!
Another thing I should have added...Saltwater pools are not chemical less .. Homeowner may not have to pour chlorine into his pool on a regular basis, BUT you have to maintain the ph.. And theses types of pool systems use more acid..
Other way around... if you have a High pH your more alkaline. Low pH = more acidic.

[Outnumbered]

Good advise from ROZ. Here are a few things I have learned from building my first pool 2 years ago:
1) Must get the in-floor cleaner. I'm not sure about your builder but be sure they use a quality system and back it up. Its the best thing I did. No hoses and the pool is always clean, even when you are on vacation. We don't have a pool man and it is super easy to maintain. I have never had to vacuum the pool even after a wicked monsoon.
2) Go with a dark color Pebble Tec to warm up the pool and get more life from the finish.
3) Save the solar money and put it toward a spa and top of the line heater. We use the spa year round and can heat the pool for the weekend in the winter if we are having guests etc.
4) If you decide to do the spa get the indoor remote, Jandy AquaLink. It kicks ass.
5) Go big and go deep. My one regret is that we did not do a diving pool (8' depth). We did a play pool 3-4-5' and I wish it was a little bigger and a little deeper.
Good luck.

[SoCal_fun]

I ave a heliacoil from ACS. It has a bypass and a temp setting control to keep it at a preset temp with theelectric auto valves.
I can't imagine anybody would have one without a bypass or temp control with auto valves.
I keep mine set for 84 from about april 1 through late novemebr here in the AV.
Love it, compared to my old pool with a large gas heater and approx 500-800 a month to heat.

[ROZ]

Other way around... if you have a High pH your more alkaline. Low pH = more acidic.
How did you get that from my post ?
Yes, to combat high ph you need to add acid. Not all pools with a high ph have high in alkaline..
Low ph, you're using too many tabs :D add soda ash.. Baking soda... makes it more basic.. I tend to see this happen in commercial spas and sometimes an above ground contained spa.
BTW, to knock down the alkaline, add your muratic acid in one location. don't walk and pour. The acid is more effective at eating metals when it falls in larger portion.

[ROZ]

4) If you decide to do the spa get the indoor remote, Jandy AquaLink. It kicks ass.
Use to be all Jandy, but I like the Aqua Logic by Goldline.. all RF baby! Table top remote you can keep in any room, and the spa remote is an rf floatie :D
Especially great when you're replacing obsolete gear :)

[BoatFloating]

I went with solar with a company out of San Diego called Performance Solar I even hooked Toby up with them. The bubble covers to me look horrible in a nice looking pool. The cost of solar more than pays for it's self in about 2 years not only the money you save over gas but using the pool you paid good money for. My pool was 80 degress durning a couple days in Jan this year and was in mid 80's in March. Durning the summer if I set my pool to 85 and it's 87 the solar doesn't kick on it's all automatic like a heater.... Set it and forget it....

[Mandelon]

We live a couple miles from the beach too. We have solar on the roof. It faces east so we get good morning and midday sun on it. They are the long black skinny rubber tubes.
We also have a motorized cover. Turn the key and it opens or closes. Its strong enough to walk across. I try to keep the kids off of it, but its like a giant water bed. The darker colored tops add even more heat. We changed from a dark blue top to silver this time. It also helps keep out the leaves, adds quite a bit of heat and saves on chemicals, since the pool is covered when not in use. The top foot of water can get to be over 100* easily on hot days. Its a shock to jump in sometimes as you pass through the various layers of temperatures from hot to cool down closer to the bottom.
The use of both really heats up the pool and extends our swimming season a lot. Depending on how long we run the pump we can swim from late may to Halloween in 80* water. Its 90* now. We live on a ridge and the breeze blows by constantly and will cool it down quickly if left uncovered.

[KineticoH20]

I ave a heliacoil from ACS. It has a bypass and a temp setting control to keep it at a preset temp with theelectric auto valves.
I can't imagine anybody would have one without a bypass or temp control with auto valves.
I keep mine set for 84 from about april 1 through late novemebr here in the AV.
Love it, compared to my old pool with a large gas heater and approx 500-800 a month to heat.
If anyone's interested I have an extra solar system SUNSTAR sister company of Heliocoil, I have 8 8' panels with electronic Jandy controlers and most all parts to install. System would sell for around 5k will sell for cost.

[HOOTER SLED-]

Bchbum. Lakewood gets pretty warm. I'm pretty sure you are more than 6 miles from the ocean. Anyhow, I would go with the circle covers. They are probably easier to take off than a full bubble top cover. I'm sure way cheaper than a solar heating system. I think you will only use them in early Spring and late Fall anyways.

[ParkerRat]

We live a couple miles from the beach too. We have solar on the roof. It faces east so we get good morning and midday sun on it. They are the long black skinny rubber tubes.
We also have a motorized cover. Turn the key and it opens or closes. Its strong enough to walk across. I try to keep the kids off of it, but its like a giant water bed. The darker colored tops add even more heat. We changed from a dark blue top to silver this time. It also helps keep out the leaves, adds quite a bit of heat and saves on chemicals, since the pool is covered when not in use. The top foot of water can get to be over 100* easily on hot days. Its a shock to jump in sometimes as you pass through the various layers of temperatures from hot to cool down closer to the bottom.
The use of both really heats up the pool and extends our swimming season a lot. Depending on how long we run the pump we can swim from late may to Halloween in 80* water. Its 90* now. We live on a ridge and the breeze blows by constantly and will cool it down quickly if left uncovered.
I live less than a mile from the coast and have a Dark Blue electric cover. As long as I keep it covered when I am not using it, the water stays nice and toasty May thru October. I have alos been considering adding a Solor system just to extend the season. Sounds like the combination of the two will keep th ewater warm for at least 3/4 of the year.

[ParkerRat]

If anyone's interested I have an extra solar system SUNSTAR sister company of Heliocoil, I have 8 8' panels with electronic Jandy controlers and most all parts to install. System would sell for around 5k will sell for cost.
What would cost be for this? I might be interested.

[HOOTER SLED-]

http://www.solarsunrings.com
These are the ones I was talking about. :rollside:

[Perfect Mixer]

I'm about 10 miles from the pacific. My wife won't go in the pool unless its atleast 80 deg F. I can usually get there with the solar and a cover with no heater use in about a weeks time in January if she wants. I only use the heater now when I have short notice on visitors, or for the hot tub. I've got mine set up with an Aqualink setup that keeps the solar on up to a certain temp. I had it set for 100 just to keep it warm to swim at night. Unfortunately, it actually hit 100 last Satruday when it was 115 here. It wasn't at all refreshing. The other good thing is you can turn it into a cooler by switching the valve on manually to cool the water down at night (if you run the pump). Our gas bill went from $220 a month to $160 almost immediatly, but we like to use the pool all year round. Considering it ws about $4500 for the install, it's going to take a while to recover the cost. I wouldn't live without it.
Oh yeah, we went with Performance Solar too. It's been in for 2 years now with no problems at all.