Two Main Types Of Solar Covers For Pools: Bubble And Solid
Bubble covers primary benefit is its ability to retain heat better than any other type. It can raise your water temperature up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Solid covers are easy to clean because there are no holes or gaps in the surface, which also makes them easier to maintain. Plus they wont get blown around by wind as much as bubble ones do.
Different Types Of Solar Pool Covers
When you start shopping for solar pool covers, you will find that the options are available in various thicknesses. Most of the time, they are measured in mil, which stands for one-thousandth of an inch. You will also notice that the color corresponds to the thickness of the material. For instance, blue covers can measure between 4 to 8 mil while clear covers measure between 12 to 16 mil. The latter tend to be more robust, lasting for four or more years. Moreover, clear covers allow more heat to penetrate through the material, performing a more efficient job at keeping the water warm.
There are also different types of solar pool covers in the market. You might find the following options:
- Liquid Solar Cover
A Complete Guide To Solar Pool Covers
In Canada, our swimming season is disappointingly short. During the hot days at the beginning of the summer, the weather is perfect for a swim but your water will take some time to catch up, especially if you dont have a heater. Over time, the summer sun will begin to warm your water, but it can take weeks off of your swimming season. Solar pool covers offer an effective and affordable way to use the sun to heat your swimming pool more quickly.
A solar pool cover can help you to quickly add a few degrees to your pool water, and to prevent heat loss during chilly nights. A solar pool cover is an excellent investment for your swimming pool whether or not you have a heater installed already. With the right solar cover in place, you can run your heater less often, while enjoying warm and comfortable water.
But, the key to ensuring your solar heater will be effective in warming your pool is choosing the right blanket. This guide will help you to make the right solar blanket choice for your pool, and how to use it for best results.
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How Long Can You Leave A Solar Cover On A Pool
You can leave a solar cover on a pool for a week before the water needs to off-gas for a couple of hours.
Spray the cover with a garden hose to remove the harsh chemicals, then put it back on the pool. These covers typically last between 3 to 5 years before they develop signs of wear and tear.
Solar covers dont cause algae unless they arent cleaned and well-maintained. Your solar cover will last less than a year if you dont follow a recommended cleaning schedule.
Heres what I suggest doing to make your cover last longer:
Some pool owners have managed to keep a pool cover for up to a decade, while others have to replace the cover every pool season.
Proper maintenance is crucial if you dont want to break the bank every summer to get a new cover. And remember, 12 ml covers last longer than 10 ml covers.
State Of The Industry
Solar hot water systems are considered a mature technology as they have been commercially available for over a century. They are available on many scales, from small do-it-yourself kits for domestic hot water needs, to large commercially installed systems for agricultural applications. There are more than 600,000 m2 of solar water collectors installed in Canada.
Whether used for residential or agricultural purposes, solar water heating systems are usually paired with a back-up heating system, in order to ensure that hot water is never lacking. A solar domestic water heating system can provide from 80 per cent to all of a householdâs hot water needs in the summer, depending on water consumption habits. During the winter, however, its output falls to 20 to 25 per cent of hot water needs.
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A Solar Cover Can Help Retain Any Heat That Is Already In The Pool Water
Almost all of the heat in pool water will escape from the pools surface. Regardless of the type of swimming pool, pools have walls. And those walls will transfer a temperature difference at a slower rate than if there wasnt a wall there.
To help explain this for an inground pool, if the pool water temperature is warmer than the earth on the other side of the wall of the pool, then those two temperature differences will try to become the same. As a result, the earth along the outside wall of the pool will be slightly warmer than the earth further away from the wall.
Simultaneously, the water directly next to the pool wall will be slightly cooler than the water further from the wall and towards the center of the pool.
Now, as long as there continues to be a temperature difference between these two areas, there will be a transference of temperature attempting to become the same.
The winner of this temperature war will be the side that has the most energy. In the case of the earth versus the warm water in the winter, the winner will depend on how much heat enters the water as the earth will have unlimited energy to make and keep it colder.
Lastly, the battlefield here for this transference of energy is the wall of the pool. And its the walls make-up that determines the rate at which the energy can transfer. A thicker concrete wall will transfer the energy at a lesser rate than say a thin metal wall of an above-ground pool.
Solar Pool Cover Buying Guide
When buying a solar pool blanket, there are two factors you need to consider: the level of efficiency and size. Efficient models will allow you to use it more days out of the year while thinner ones typically dont retain heat as well.
As far as sizing goes, get one thats at least 10 inches larger than your swimming area so that it fits properly on top of the water. Otherwise, it wont be able to trap enough sunlight or allow for any airflow into the water.
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If You Are Heating Your Swimming Pool You Must Have A Solar Cover
As explained above , most of the heat loss of the pools water will be out from the pools surface. So, if you are heating your pool with something that actually generates heat into the water, then you will need a blanket of insulation over the top of the pool to help keep the heat in.
This blanket of insulation is what my industry calls a solar cover. And you absolutely need to be using one in unison with the heater. This will allow the water you heated to stay in the pool longer.
A pool heater and set-up is expensive. A solar cover is not. If you are planning on heating your pool, just take my word for it and order one and have it before heating your pool.
Sun2solar Clear Rectangle Solar Pool Cover
Now onto the cream of the crop. Many see the Sun2Solar Solar Cover as the best solar cover for an inground pool, including the vast majority of our team that was involved in testing the solar covers. Its affordable, durable, heats pools extremely well and it still offers good value for its price. The 16 x 32 ft. cover that we tested comes in either blue or clear color, and they are made from thousands of round bubbles.
This pool cover also comes in over a dozen different sizes for both rectangle and square pools, meaning less cutting and more convenience in setting it up. When considering what color to go with, blue can provide an appealing look, while clear does a better job at acquiring more heat.
This solar cover is 12-mil thick, and it can have a reasonable amount of durability. You can trim it to suit your specific needs, and you wont have to worry about voiding the warranty. This was hands down our teams favorite of the 20 solar pool covers we tested and is an online best seller.
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Are Automatic Pool Covers Reliable
Automatic pool covers are safe, reliable, and easy to use. You can open or close your automatic safety cover with the push of a button. Automatic pool covers offer incredible peace of mind for homeowners who want to prevent accidents or keep loved ones and pets out of harms way.
Should pool cover touch water?
The cover is designed to touch the surface of the water. So your pool should always be filled when covered, and the water level should never go below 18 inches from the top of the pool. Check the water level of the pool and fill it up if it goes below 18 inches.
Does an automatic pool cover replace a fence?
The 2012 version of the code allows an automatic pool safety cover instead of a pool fence for spas only. The 2015 version of the code allows pool owners to install automatic pool safety covers for their spas and inground pools instead of installing a pool fence. As of this writing, 11 states have adopted the ISPSC.
How Does It Work
The bubbles in a solar cover are actually thermal bubbles that grab UV rays from the sun. As they soak up that heat during the day, it traps the warmth in the bubbles during the night and helps to maintain your pools temperature. This is especially effective when you keep the solar blanket on as much as possible when nobody is using the pool.
Yes, your pool will naturally gather heat during the course of the day, but its not typically enough to keep it consistently warm during cooler seasons. Just like when youve heated water on the stove, you put a lid on it to lock in the heat. In much the same way, a solar blanket will prevent heat from being lost overnight or in cooler weather.
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Studies On Pool Solar Covers
In 2014, a recent survey by Colgate University, on the use of solar pool effectiveness showed some exciting results. According to the study, a pool that was covered for 7 hours at night experienced, on average, 30% in energy savings.
A recent study in 2012 by Michigan Energy Office, which included tests conducted in Chesaning Middle School, showed interesting results. According to the study, using solar pool covers led to almost cut energy use levels by half. Plus, the most significant benefit of solar pool covers, according to the study, is that it provided improved humidity control benefits. A similar study also occurred in Australia in the 1960s. According to the study, the use of clear plastic films showed many benefits for swimming pools. These included controlling the loss of heat, absorbing radiation issues, and more.
A study by Cal Poly researchers was conducted on 12 pools, and it also has impressive results. These include measuring the evaporation effectiveness of solar panels, a liquid solar blanket, and solar rings. However, the study never measured energy savings and heat gain levels. The researchers focused on useful techniques that pool owners can use to control evaporation levels a crucial problem in California, which often faces drought. Based on the study results, using any type of pool cover provided high levels of effectiveness. Also, using solar rings that were not fully covered, experienced poor heat and humidity control levels.
What Color Solar Cover Works Best
Pool cover colors can make a difference to the amount of heat that enters the pool and the amount of heat retained in the pool.
Dark blue covers tend to be better at retaining heat than allowing heat to enter the pool.
Clear pool covers will allow heat into the pool the best but will not retain it so well as a dark color.
Light blue covers are a happy medium between letting heat in and retaining heat. That is probably why it is the most common color usually.
There are a few different colors available now and some two color covers, with one color one side and another on the other.
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What Is The Best Color For A Solar Pool Cover
Solar pool covers are available in several thicknesses. Theyre measured in mil, which is the standard United States unit of measure for one-thousandth of an inch.
- Blue solar covers can measure 4 mil and 8 mil .
- Clear solar covers can measure 12 mil and 16 mil .
Clear solar covers heat the pool better than blue solar covers because they allow more of the suns heat to penetrate more efficiently. Dark blue solar covers are great for heat retention. And even a lightweight cover can last if you take care of it properly.
What Are The Advantages Of Having A Pool Enclosure
Retractable pool and patio enclosures provide the benefit of extending the life and service life of your pool and accessories while reducing maintenance time and costs. A retractable enclosure will also do the following: Extend your exercise and entertainment area for all four seasons.Provide exposure to the warmth of the sun without the harmful effects of UV rays Provide protection from irritating bugs and insects or even animals similar to a screen pool enclosure but even better And there are even more benefits !
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Does A Pool Warm Up Faster With The Cover On Or Off
On a hot, windless day it may be that the pool water will heat up quicker with the pool cover off as more of the suns energy will reach the water.
However, the pool cover also helps stop heat loss and evaporation, and this loss happens quicker in windy conditions, so it may heat up quicker with the cover on.
In my experience it makes very little difference so leaving it on is rather easier than having to keep putting the cover on and taking it off.
How Does A Solar Blanket Work
The heat from the sun hits the blanket and warms it up and that heat is then transferred to the water. So in addition to keeping the warmth of the pool, the solar cover actually helps create heat additionally.
A typical solar pool blanket effectively forms a vapor barrier over the pool to keep heat in and retain moisture, too ie. it lowers evaporation.
Why are pool covers blue? The truth is that while the old school ones we typically see are blue, they come in several other colors too.
You typically see a medium blue color for most pool covers. This is because this blue shade does a good job of trapping heat while also helping to block UV rays which protects the chemicals in the pool. Chemicals including salt-generated chlorine gets killed off by direct sunlight but the pool cover can help to shield water from harmful UV rays.
Clear pool covers exist and they tend to be better at allowing more heat into the pool possibly heating the pool more than the blue cover. The trade off is that UV rays tend to penetrate the clear cover which can damage the chemicals in the pool.
Dark blue pool covers also exist. This color tends to be the best color for heat gain and heat retention at night. The net heat gain with a dark blue cover is less than a clear one however.
You may also come across tan and gray pool covers that tend to retain their color and hide dirt better than say a clear pool cover.
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Are Solar Pool Covers Worth It
There is no simple yes or no answer to this question. It all depends on your personal needs and what you want to gain from using a solar pool cover.
If youre looking for a quick and easy way of heating your pool, then no, theyre not worth it. Solar pool covers can be cumbersome to place on and off the pool. And they also require regular cleaning, which takes some effort with larger covers.
However, if youre looking to reduce energy costs and be environmentally friendly, then yes, they are definitely worth it. The initial investment is quite expensive, but it will save you money in the long run because there are zero ongoing costs.
How Exactly Do Solar Swimming Pool Covers Work
To understand how a solar pool cover works, you should know what happens to the water in your pool if you leave it completely uncovered or with a regular pool cover.
During the day, if you leave the pool uncovered, itll absorb a lot of the sunlight throughout the day. Ideally, pool water will absorb more than 60 to 70% of the solar energy directed at it. This energy will end up heating up the pool by about 0.7 to 1 °F every hour.
However, with an uncovered pool, the water will start to counteract the warming process by evaporation.
One property that always follows water evaporation is a quick reduction in temperature. In fact, this can cause the water to cool up at a much higher rate than it heats up, rendering the water icy cold on a hot summer day.
A solar pool cover is simply a huge blanket that looks like a thick sheet of bubble wrap. How solar pool covers work is by capturing the heat energy that comes from the sun and use it to keep the water warm. This resembles the greenhouse effect used to keep the plants in warmer conditions.
The great difference here is that although it heated up much faster, the blanket doesnt allow the evaporation process to escalate. So, the pool remains warm without using external means of heating.
It goes without saying that the solar pool cover also works as a physical barrier that blocks all the external factors of the environment from tampering with the chemical composition of your water.
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