Solar Panel Limits

[pooladdict]

Hello all, I am just curious, with 368 sq ft of surface area for my pool, and 160 sq ft of panels now, would I get much more boost from another 80 or 160 sq ft? Is there a limit as to what is really usefull and what is overkill?

Rik

 

[JasonLion]

Living in Canada I suspect you could profitably go quite large if you are interested in extending your swimming season. It is not too uncommon to have as much area of panels as pool. If the water has ever been too cold for your taste then more area will help. I suppose it depends on what the coldest air temperature you are willing to get out of the pool into is.

 

[matt4x4]

Pool addict - the way it works is that on a hot day, mid summer - even with only a small surface area of solar panels, you'd likely be bypassing them because of the immense heat gain, however, the more area you have, the longer you can extend your swim season - you can open earlier, and run late into the early fall. the panel area depicts how many weeks you can extend by in both directions.
So, essentially, your solar's primary use is to help heat your pool on cooler days, the more you have, the better it works!.

 

[pooladdict]

Thanks guys, you have a point Jason, the main reason I decided against alternate heating, whats the point of having your pool at 86, when the ambient temperature is 68, I think I will look at adding another one next spring, the two now are able to heat the pool up to 86 even when the temp is 78.

I was just curious.

Rik