Hi all. Have been reading a few threads about the addition of solar heat panels for the pool and was wondering if anyone who has researched these has a quick answer. I have an inground pool using a 2hp Pentair Challenger main pump. My home is a 2 story with a walk-out basement so my south-facing side of my roof is 3 stories up. The location would be perfect from a sunlight perspective but my concern is the ability to pump the water that high to actually have flow through the panels. The engineer in me says that it should put almost no additional load on the pump as long as it is a closed system (weight of water returning balances weight of water heading up) but if any leaks let air in the system, I don't know if it would work or not. Any thoughts/ideas/info?
Thinking of solar heat... is this an option in my case?
- Thread starter k9sarretired
- Start date
Pool Clown
In The Industry
Your solar should have a drain down valve on the panels themselves so a return water weight balance could be tricky if you don't have a variable speed pump to adjust for that extra need. I would say it (2hp) would Probably work, but since you are a engineer, you can do the calcs yourself, and see. Im sure Pentair online has the pump curve chart if you don't have it, then from there, its just pipe size and length. Don't forget to add for the fittings.