How Do Solar Pool Covers Work

What Solar Pool Cover Color Is Best

Does it make a difference? Yes, it does. A solar pool cover is available in many shades of blues, grays, yellows, and even transparent. The colors make a difference to the amount of heat that is transferred to the pool water as well as the amount that is retained in the same. Dark blue covers are generally better at keeping heat than allowing heat to enter the pool, whereas transparent pool covers allow the heat to enter the pool the best but not retain it well enough. You can read more about how good transparent covers are in our article Clear Vs Blue Solar Pool Covers

What Do I Do

The climate is great here in the Canary Islands, with the lowest temperatures rarely dropping below 50ºF at night and 68ºF during the day in winter. But there is insufficient sunshine to keep the pool at a temperature that we are prepared to swim in , even with our solar heating and the solar cover.

So from around mid-November until late February, or early March, I take the cover off and store it. See the next section for tips on storing.

How To Use A Liquid Solar Cover

Now that you know a little about the safety of liquid pool covers and their chemical composition, its time to learn how to use a cover on your home pool. Fortunately, liquid covers are relatively simple to use.

Start by shaking the bottle. Most liquid pool covers come in a single bottle. Before you apply the liquid, shake the bottle to completely mix the ingredients.

Start your pool pump. Next, you can start your pool pump so that the mixture is applied evenly throughout the pool. The pump circulates the liquid for a uniform layer. Because the liquid pool cover is lighter than the water within your pool, the cover liquid will rise to the top.

Add the liquid pool cover to your pool. Youre now ready to release the liquid into your pool. Take your time and analyze the manufacturers instructions during this important process. Most commercially available products recommend using 4 ounces of liquid pool cover for every 20,000 gallons of water.

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How It Works In Your Pool

Not even a blanket at all, a liquid solar blanket is actually a mixture of alcohol and calcium hydroxide that weighs less than water. Its lightness and buoyancy cause it to float on the surface of the water without sinking, creating a film-like barrier that you cant see or feel.

This invisible layer works like a protective chemical bubble on your pool water, holding the heat from the sun in and keeping the water from evaporating.

Advantages Of Solar Blankets

Reduce Heat Gain

Blanket solar pool covers and liquid pool covers are designed to minimize heat loss from the pool. But blanket covers will also reduce the waters heat gain from the sun. And so if youre concerned about a sudden rise in water temperature due to the suns rays, you might review your blanket pool cover options.

Protect Against Debris

One of the clear benefits of choosing a blanket solar cover is that it keeps pool water warm and protects against debris entering the water.

Garden debris such as leaves and flowers can enter your pool, potentially contaminating the water supply. You may find that regular pool cleaning reduces the need for a solid cover, but this is a major benefit if you have limited time for regular pool maintenance.

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Keep Bugs And Debris Out

Although its not one of their primary purposes, solar blankets do shield your pool from bugs and debris such as leaves and twigs. If your blanket does trap debris, use a hand skimmer to scoop it out before removing the cover.

The more debris you can keep out of your pool water, the less you have to run your pump on high to vacuum, and the more you can save in energy costs.

Solar Coversdo They Really Work

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Molson said:Hi Alice, to answer your first question in regards to the cover staying on the pool, I have a solar cover on my 16×40 pool and have never had it blow off, or even up for that matter. The surface tension on the water seems to hold it flat, and not allow the wind to catch a corner, and 99% of the time I am winding the cover up myself on the reel, and it is no effort at all, just make sure its going on even.

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geekgranny said:Right now the tall holly trees, right by the pool, are shedding profusely filling the one Pool Skim bag and skimmer sock several times a day. It was so bad the other night as the pollen dangly thingies were finishing up and holly leaves falling I had to turn the pump off to get some sleep. The pool was a mess the next morning even though the Aquabot ran all night. Even evergreen trees regenerate leaves. I need to look those up as they are tall trees and not shrubs as people often think of them. They, also, don’t have sharp points on the leaves. I’m sure they are quite common landscape plants down here but I just can’t remember the name.

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How To Use Liquid Solar Cover

In addition to bottles, you can also find liquid solar cover in special dispersal packets, sometimes shaped like a cute little fish. Usually, youll just make a small cut in the dispersal packet, and set it free in the pool. Follow the instructions to be sure you add enough packets for your pool.

For bottled liquid solar cover, simply measure out the appropriate amount according to the volume of your pool, and pour it in. Thats it. Really.

We like to add enough liquid solar cover to last for a month, but always follow the manufacturers instructions for optimal performance. If you have a lot of splashout, heavy rain, or extremely dry conditions you may need to add liquid solar cover more often.

Tip: You can run your pump as usual with liquid solar cover in the pool.

The Problem Of Evaporation

There are a number of benefits to owning a solar pool coverbut well cover those below. The main benefit of having a solar pool cover, however, is to reduce your pool waters rate of evaporation.

Every day, hot, sunny rays drain your pools water. Florida pools without covers, on average, absorb about 60 percent of the suns energy in 4.5 feet of water. This energy can heat the pools water by as much as .7 degrees, Fahrenheit, around noontime.

Unfortunately, this temperature change is altered by evaporationwhich doesnt necessarily rely on water and air temperature alone. Wind blowing across the pools surface, for example, can increase the rate of evaporation. Humidity, too, determines how quickly water will evaporation.

For every one-fourth inch of evaporated water, a pool loses approximately five degrees, Fahrenheit, of temperature.

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What Is A Liquid Solar Cover

A liquid solar cover is an evaporation suppressant. Theyre an alcohol-based chemical product designed to float on top of your pool water, effectively reducing both heat loss and evaporation. The process works by trapping heat using a molecular barrier on the surface of the water. This helps keep your pool nice and warm and helps save money on rising heat bills.

How To Store A Solar Cover In Winter

Apart from UV light another thing which makes your solar cover degrade quicker are the chemicals in the pool. So if you just remove the cover and store it then it will have these chemicals, and dirt, still on it. These will continue to act upon the cover while it is stored. So before you store the cover you should wash it with soapy water.

Ideally you should do this in an area large enough to lay it out flat, such as a terrace or a driveway. Lay it out and then hose it down. Afterwards, using a bucket of soapy water wash it with a soft broom to remove as much as you can. Then hose it down again. You should do this on both sides and then leave it to dry completely before rolling it up.

Once dry and rolled up you need to protect it from not only the winter weather but also from UV light. Even the winter sun can produce enough UV to degrade the cover. If you have somewhere inside you can store it, such as a large garage, then that is ideal. If you cannot store it inside then you can buy a cover to protect it quite cheaply in a size to fit yours.

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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.

Do Solar Pool Covers Really Work

Yes! Every time you lose water, through splashing or evaporation, you have to replace it. And new water takes energy to heat. Solar pool covers help retain the heat already in the water by reducing water evaporation. And they act as a magnifying glass to amplify the suns warming effect on your pool water.

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How To Use And Remove A Solar Blanket

You may notice that the solar blanket is a bit unwieldy thefirst time you unpack it. Do not rip it into pieces out of frustration! You canfix this easily by unfolding it by the pool. Remember to spread it out over thewater with the bubble side down. It would also be ideal to leave about two tothree inches of excess material where the skimmer is. Doing so will allow youto tuck the blanked below the edge of the skimmer.

Now, if you often use your pool, it can be challenging toremove the solar blanket. Some people work around this problem by cutting theblanket into smaller panels. Doing so allows them to remove the blanket pieceby piece. However, a more convenient and efficient option is to use anautomatic pool cover reel.

Whats great about an automatic solar cover reel is it canbe used for both above-ground and inground pools. All you need to do is attachone end of the blanket to the reel. With a push of a button, you can draw outor draw in the cover. All the hard work will be lifted off your shoulders!

Pro Tip: Keep in mind that not all pool reels are made thesame. There are reels with a handle or wheel that you need to turn manually.Moreover, some of the products available online are not robust enough to lastlong under harsh conditions. So, when you need an automatic reel for your poolcover, do not hesitate to contact us! We use premium quality materials toengineer our automatic pool reel to the highest standards.

Can You Run The Pool Pump With Solar Cover On

Absolutely, and you should run it too. Your pool pump should run for the same amount of time each day when the solar cover is on than when it is off.

The water still needs to be filtered and the chemicals circulated whether on or off and no harm will come to the solar cover when the pump is running.

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Getting The Most Out Of Your Solar Pool Cover

If you really like the solar pool cover benefits listed above, it might be time for you to bring your own pool in a new direction. This solar pool cover guide serves to give Florida pool owners direct, actionable facts about one of todays greatest pool innovations.

The team at GPS Pools is ready to help you take the next step of your journey. If youre unsure about which pool cover would be most effective, give our Lutz, FL location a call at 948-9091. Or, contact at our Land OLakes, FL location for more information.

Why Trust The Spruce

Erica Puisis has been covering the best products for outdoor and indoor living at The Spruce since 2017. Her research and areas of expertise have included pool heaters, cleaners, and water testing equipment. To find the best options for this essential pool accessory, she considered the thickness of each solar cover, its ability to retain heat, block UV rays, or provide passive heating for pool water, and the length of any warranty periods.

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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.

Our #1 Pick: Sun2solar Heat

• 12 x 24 foot coverage
• Raises temperature by 15F
• 246 x 246 x 0.25 inches

If youre looking for the best solar pool cover for a rectangular pool sized 12 x 24 feet, the ever-reliable Sun2Solar delivers as promised.

This is a multipurpose solar blanket that gets thing off to a strong start by inhibiting up to 95% of the evaporation that can blight an uncovered swimming pool. Fill up your swimming pool less often, saving you hassle and money, while also conserving water.

When the sun has been penetrating your swimming pool all day long as you splash about, its a shame to let that heat go to waste. With this blanket, you dont need to. Cover your pool at the end of the day and the heat-retaining properties of this blanket will warm your water instead of being squandered.

In addition to preventing evaporation and warming your pool water, this blanket also stops debris from tumbling into your pool when its covered. This will cut down on the work of your pool filter, and will resultantly prolong its lifespan.

One of the welcome touches about this solar pool cover is the fact you can easily trim it to fit. While you should use it for a pool roughly sized as recommended by the manufacturer, youll have some leeway with slightly smaller pools if youre prepared to tailor the cover with some scissors.

Aside from a slight flimsiness, this is our favorite solar pool cover in a glutted field. See what you think.

• Raises temperature by 15F
• 396 x 396 x 0.5 inches

4.95

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How To Use Solar Pool Covers

Solar pool covers can be one of the most useful tools that a pool owner can have at their fingertips. They help save time, money and energy.

If you have owned a pool cover for some time or you are new to this subject, I am sure the information we are proving below can at least teach you something new and useful about solar pool covers.

What IS a solar pool cover?

Did you know that 75% of heat loss in your pool water is due to evaporation? Imagine having a cover on your pool and then making it solarOh yeah, now we are talking! The covers trap heat and reduce evaporation. It also helps keep out debris, leaves and such.

Solar pool covers or also known as solar blankets, is made up of a thin, lightweight sheet made from a special plastic that is UV resistant. The covers are typically double sided, with a smooth side and a bubble wrap side.

How DOES a solar cover work?

Most days in Florida are filled with a lot of sunshine that give your pool water natural solar heat. With that sunshine however, can also come rain in the bling of an eye. Either way, it doesnt provide enough heat for a steady, comfortable swim year-round.

A common purchase to fix this is a pool heat pump theyre a reliable source for on demand heat. However, even with the best pool heater, evaporation is still a major problem.

How to use a solar pool cover

Thats it! Now you can place and remove the cover as needed with no other custom needs.

When to use a solar pool cover

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