Looking into solar panels

[stac]

This will be our third year with our above ground 16x32 pool. We live in Michigan and are hoping to be able to extend our swim season by at least a few weeks and keep our water about 5-10 degrees warmer. I have been searching for an inexpensive heating system and have just about decided on a solar panel system. I have looked at the Doheny and Smartpool system (both only a few hundred dollars). Do any of you have experience with either of these systems?
Thanks in advance

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome to TFP, the "little" solar like this Doheny's Above Ground Pool Solar Heating System For Sale | Doheny's Pool Supplies Fast will likely only raise your temp 2 degrees, maybe 3 depending a couple factors...

Solar works best with coverage area... a cheap solar cover 8 mil is at 95% coverage and will raise your temp and keep the heat in overnight and also keep your evaporation down...

16 x 32 OVAL Solar Pool Cover Inground Pools - Doheny's

The reel's are the expensive part and a pain if you do not have one.. Solar Cover Reels for Pools Pool Covers - Doheny's

to do a solar system at 75% will run about 2 to 10 grand depending on who does it and how much coverage you get...

 

[stac]

thank you. I do have a solar cover, and that does help some, but was hoping to add to it with the panels. The cover that I have came with the pool, so I am assuming it is not a high quality. Do you think it will benefit me more to get a better cover? I am not ready to invest thousands right now in a system, but would love to add a few more degrees.

 

[pooldv]

The 8 mil thinnest solar covers work about as well as the thicker ones do and are cheaper and easier to handle. Any solar panels will help to heat your pool as long as you only run them when heat is available. The question is how much will they help. They will also cool your pool if you run them in the rain, cloudy or windy conditions. Before we got the solar controller we had some days where the pool was cooler after running the panels.

 

[censored]

My pool is roughly the same size as yours. For 80% coverage I just paid $5800. This is a Helicol system, piped, trenched, installed, and automated. Based off of the quotes I received for the same and competing systems, this is a very good price. Maybe if you only want a couple degrees and are already using a cover, a heater would be your best bet. You can find them used on craigslist sometimes very cheap. That will allow you to stay in your budget now, but you will pay for it a little over time. I don't even want to know what the ROI is on my solar, but at least it actually gets our pool usable.