If you want to save more than 70% of the cost of heating and maintaining your swimming pool, follow these simple steps:
STEP 1: Install a floating or fixed pool cover to reduce heat loss from the pool;
STEP 2: Install a low cost solar heating system
STEP 3: Enjoy swimming in your own back yard without the hassle and expense of driving to a cottage or to public pools …
A swimming pool in your back yard is a great way for your family and friends to gather without the cost and energy use to travel to public pools, lakes, or cottages. Inexpensive temporary PVC pools can be bought in supermarkets and taken down after summer. Swimming pools range from expensive concrete or fiberglass permanent structures to inexpensive plastic pools which are installed only for us in summer and put away in the winter.
Medical researchers have found that 78oF a healthy and comfortable temperature for swimming yet many people enjoy swimming in water temperatures of 80oF to 90oF (26.7C-32.2C). Excessive pool temperatures waste energy due to increased evaporation rates (which cause cooling of pool) and also cause chemical used to purify the water to evaporate more quickly.
A swimming pool without a cover will loose 70% if its heat energy as evaporation, 20% as radiation to the sky, and 10% as thermal conduction losses to the air and to the ground. A floating or fixed rigid swimming pool cover with a small R value can reduce energy losses by 75% and is the first step to enjoying you pool at an affordable price.
Most swimming pools are heated with natural gas, electricity, or oil which contribute to air and water pollution as well as the heat-trapping gases that cause global warming and which are quickly becoming very expensive.
Solar water heating technology is a simple, reliable, and cost-effective method of harnessing the sun’s energy to provide for your pool heating needs. Modern solar heating products can work winter and summer, even in areas where temperatures fall below freezing.
Many commercial solar hot water heating systems costs between $2,000 to $4,000, depending on variable factors such as ease of installation, state or provincial codes, safety requirements, and access to financing.
Many of the newer technology solar heating systems such as the products developed by Omachron Technologies Inc. have a cost of $600 to $1,200 and pay for themselves in as little as a single year of operation of your pool. Solar pool heating systems are highly reliable and generally maintenance free. In particularly hot climates, passing pool water through the solar collectors during the evening hours can serve as a cooling mechanism if needed.
