Author: Sara May

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Innovative Solutions, Pool and Spa Equipment

How to Make 2012 the Year of the Energy Efficient Pool — Part 2 of 4

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Solar Pool Heaters

Making your backyard swimming pool more energy-efficient isn’t just about being more environmentally friendly — although, that’s a pretty good reason in itself.  Energy-efficiency is also about saving money.  I don’t know many people who wouldn’t like to keep a little more green in their pockets, especially considering our current economic challenges. 

The first post in this series of 4 posts recommended Solar Pool Covers as one way to increase your pool’s efficiency.  In this second post, the subject is Solar Pool Heaters.

2. Solar Pool Heater

A second way to create an energy-efficient pool is to use a Solar Pool Heater. Solar heaters provide another way of taking advantage of the sun’s free energy. Solar Heaters are tremendously efficient, cheap to operate, and are the ultimate in environmental friendliness. When combined with a solar pool cover, a Solar Pool Heater will maintain a comfortable water temperature well into the cooler months.

Most solar pool heating systems include the following elements:

  • A solar collector — Pool water is circulated through this device so that it can be heated by the sun;
  • A filter — Debris is removed in the filter before water is pumped through the collector;
  • A pump — Pool water is circulated through the filter and collector and back to the pool thanks to the pump;
  • A flow control valve — Pool water is diverted through the solar collector through this automatic or manual device.

Solar Pool Heaters are much more affordable than you might expect, too.  Of course, whatever money is spent on purchasing new equipment initially is quickly returned in energy savings. 

Solar Pool Heater

Environmentally Friendly Ideas, Pool and Spa Equipment

How to Make 2012 the Year of the Energy Efficient Pool — Part 1 of 4

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Go Green and Save Green

Now is the best time to start thinking about how to improve the energy-efficiency of your backyard swimming pool.  Operating and maintaining a pool using older, less efficient equipment sucks up energy and money, leaving your pockets empty at the end of each season.

Making your pool more energy-efficient really only requires a few changes to your existing set up.  You can choose to implement all of suggestions offered here at one time, or you may find that changes are easier to swallow by taking them one at a time.  Either way, this series of 4 posts will offer some helpful suggestions for how to make your pool more energy-efficient in 2012 and beyond:

1. Solar Pool Covers

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 hold them in place. 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 Covers and Solar Covers

In my next post, I’ll offer a second suggestion for how to make your pool more energy-efficient in 2012.  Remember, choosing to be more energy-efficient is not just about taking steps to reduce our negative environmental impact, it’s about saving money, too.  Being green means saving green!

Holidays and Gift Ideas, Pool and Spa Chemicals, Pool and Spa Equipment, Pool and Spa Maintenance, Pool and Spa Safety, Pool Opening

New Year’s Resolutions for Pools

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Now that 2011 is coming to a close, have you started thinking about what your New Year’s resolutions will be?  If you own a backyard swimming pool, will any of those resolutions include a plan to open up your pool sooner in 2012 rather than waiting until the swimming season has long begun?

Part of what makes this kind of resolution successful is to start planning early for opening the pool.  Take the time now to check your existing stock of pool chemicals, and keep an eye out for off-season sales so you can nab these necessities at the best prices.

Take a look, too, at your pool equipment to evaluate whether it may be time to replace or upgrade items like the pool pump, pool heater, or pool covers.  Test your pool alarm while you’re at it to be sure that it is still in good working order.

New Year’s resolutions like these can be accomplished easily and with little stress involved, especially if you enlist the help of family members.  Make a short list of tasks you’d like to accomplish in order to get your pool opened in a timely fashion, and stick to it.  Before you know it, the warm weather will return, and you’ll be ready to relax by the poolside instead of scrambling to complete pool-opening tasks.

Relax by the Pool

Holidays and Gift Ideas, Pool and Spa Safety, Pool Fun

The Only Sport That Can Save a Life

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Did you know that swimming is the only sport that can save a life?  By learning how to swim, or by strengthening your existing swimming skills, you have a much better chance of staying safe in the swimming pool.  Lessons for adults and children are available year round at many community centers, YMCAs or YWCAs, and Red Cross facilities.  Now is the best time to improve swimming ability because there’s plenty of time to learn this vital life-saving skill well before swimming season begins again.  

If you like to give meaningful gifts for the holidays, consider giving swim lessons to your favorite water-loving adult or child.  Swimming lessons make a unique, long-lasting, and life saving gift.  It would be hard to find any other gift that offers benefits like that! 

For more information about the importance of swimming lessons and knowing how to swim, watch this short and helpful video from the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Pool Safely campaign.

Hot Tubs and Saunas, Pool and Spa Safety

Ensure Safe Swimming on Your Winter Vacation

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Are you planning to take a vacation to an indoor water park over this winter break, or will you be staying at a hotel equipped with a pool?  Did you know that many public swimming facilities are still not in compliance with the 2008 Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act that requires public pools and spas to replace old, outdated, and dangerous drain covers with newer, safer drain covers?

Non-compliant drain covers can cause entrapment of hair, clothing, and body parts, so ensuring that the pool or swimming facility you visit this year has complied with the law is essential before you or your kids jump in.  So, how can you tell if the drain covers in the pool or spa you will be enjoying this season are safe?

Learn more about safety drain covers for pools and spas in this helpful and informative video created by the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Pool Safely campaign.