Tag Archives: Solar Covers

Heat Your Pool Quickly and Efficiently With Solar Covers

Solar Pool Cover
Solar swimming pool covers are an inexpensive addition to your in or above ground pool that can make a large impact. Using a solar cover will warm your pool up to 15 degrees when used during the day and retain that heat (and stop chemical evaporation) when used at night. They float freely on the water’s surface with no tie downs, etc so they are easy to put on and take off. If you do need extra assistance to get the blanket on or off, solar cover reels are available. Swim earlier, swim longer, and swim more comfortably with a solar cover.

Choosing A Pool Cover That Is Right For You

 Pool Cover

Choosing a pool cover can be confusing. Below, you will find an explanation of the four different types of covers that pool owners’ normally consider. By comparing the explanation and benefit of each with your own person needs, you are sure to find the cover or covers that perfectly fit your situation.

Winter Pool Covers are mainly used to protect your pool from harsh winter conditions and to keep large debris out of your pool. A winter cover also block sunlight to prevent algae growth. They are normally solid and use air pillows to allow for water expansion in freezing weather and water tubes or weight bags to hold in place. They make opening your pool easier and less expensive in the Spring.

Safety Covers are used for maintenance as well as to protect children and pets from accidental drowning in a pool closed for the season. A proper safety cover is securely anchored into the deck area surrounding the pool and lies flat so there are no gaps between the pool and the cover. They are available in mesh and solid materials. Because they are stretched tight across the pool’s surface, water does not pool on top. These covers are very important if you have children or pets.

Solar Covers, or solar blankets, are designed exclusively to help heat and retain heat in your pool. They can be used to raise your pool’s temperature by an average of 10-15 degrees. They also reduce heat and chemical evaporation by up to 70%.

Mesh covers, known as leaf nets, are made of an open weave material that fits over your winter cover or solar cover and helps you avoid accumulations of wet, heavy, saturated leaves and twigs on top of your winter cover. These nets ensure a quicker removal of leaves and helps prolong the life of your winter or solar cover. They are perfect for pool areas that are surrounded by trees. They make removal of your winter cover much easier in the spring.

Discover How Wind Affects Your Pool

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, backyard swimming pools lose energy in a number of ways, but evaporation is the most significant source of energy loss. In fact, 70% of energy loss in swimming pools can be attributed to evaporation.

Four factors determine your pools’ evaporation rate.  Temperature, on air temperature and humidity, and on the wind speed at the pool’s surface. The higher the temperature of the pool, the higher the wind speed, and the lower the humidity, the greater the rate of evaporation. If you live in a windy area, you should install a wind barrier like strategically planted trees, or a tall fence, evaporation. The wind break should be high enough and near enough to the pool so that it doesn’t create turbulence over the pool, which will increase evaporation. You also don’t want the windbreak to block the sun from the pool; the sun helps to heat the pool and keeps it warm over time.

Creating an environmentally friendly swimming pool is achievable, important and simple to do. First, use Solar Covers, also known as solar blankets, to cover your pool. Solar Pool Covers or Blankets resemble enormous sheets of bubble wrap. The bubbles trap heat from the sun and convey the heat to the pool, keeping the water temperature warm and comfortable. The solar cover also helps to trap the water’s heat and prevents heat loss in the cooler air at night or on cooler days. Solar covers float freely on top of a pool without the need for tie-downs or anchors to secure them. Solar covers are usually folded and stored or rolled up in a large roll and wheeled out of the way. Solar Blankets are perfect for use in sunny climates because the more heat they can trap, the longer they can extend the swim season. Solar pool covers can increase water temperatures by as much as 10-15 degrees.

Besides offering energy savings, pool covers also do the following:

  • Save water by decreasing the amount of make-up water needed by 30%–50%;
  • Reduce the pool’s consumption of chemicals by 35%–60%;
  • Reduce cleaning time by preventing dirt and other debris from entering the pool.

Pool Heaters: Green Choices for Warm Water

Who says you can’t swim once the traditional swimming season has passed?  With a pool heater or heat pump, you can enjoy swimming in comfortable water for many weeks, or more, after your neighbors have already hung up the towel.  Additionally, when other swimming pool owners are waiting for the Spring weather to warm up so they can open their pools, you can be enjoying the luxury of a pleasant Spring time swim. 

The most environmentally friendly options for warming your water include Solar Pool Heaters and Heat Pumps:

Solar Pool Heaters, which take advantage of the sun’s rays, are a “green” choice for warming your pool water.  Solar Heaters are efficient and inexpensive to operate.  When combined with a solar pool cover, also known as a solar blanket, your Solar Pool Heater will keep your pool’s water comfortable well into the cooler months.

A Heat Pump is another energy-efficient choice for heating your swimming pool.  Heat Pumps take heat from the air and transfer it to the pool water. This makes the heating process ecologically safe, clean, and cost effective.  Heat Pumps are easy to operate and can be used even in frigid conditions.

Enjoying your swimming pool for an extended season without relying on energy-guzzling technologies is possible with the efficient and environmentally friendly Solar Pool Heaters and Heat Pumps.

What Is a Solar Pool Cover?

Close Up View of Solar Cover

Close Up View of Solar Cover

The purpose of a Solar Pool Cover, also known as a solar blanket, is to increase the temperature of your pool’s water by soaking up sunlight in the day and preventing the heat from escaping from your pool at night.  A solar cover can raise the temperature of your pool water by an average of 10 degrees, more in sunny climates, which not only makes the water consistently comfortable for longer periods, but allows you to run your pool heater for significantly less time over the course of the season.  

Usually the most affordable type of pool cover, solar pool covers can also save you money by decreasing evaporation.  In fact, water and chemical evaporation can be decreased by up to 70 percent with the use of a solar cover.   In addition, solar pool covers can give your filter pump a rest because they help keep leaves, small branches, and other debris out of the pool.  Solar covers are not intended to keep all debris out of the pool, but they will certainly make the job of cleaning the pool easier.

Solar pool covers float on the surface of the pool water without requiring tie-downs or anchors to keep them in place; solar covers are easy to remove and put away, especially if you have a friend to help.  Covers can be folded and stored in a pool shed or rolled-up on a large reel and wheeled out of the way when the pool is in use.

Solar pool covers are NOT safety covers, though, and should always be completely removed from the swimming pool before anyone enters the water.