To cover or not to cover...that is the qustion

[andrewg]

Solar blanket at night, cold, cloudy days etc....of course.

But what about a day like today when nobody is in the pool (yet)and I want to maximize heat gain.
Cover: actual triangle bubbles are clear, material connecting bubbles is light translucent blue, not sure of thickness
Air:90 degrees.
Pool temp: 72 degrees
Humidity: Humidity 20%
Wind: Light Breeze aloft

I've read through some threads and it seems the extra heating you gain from direct sun exposure is lost in evaporation, so it's a bit of a wash. But with the air temperature that much higher than the water temp, it just seems like it would heat faster without the cover. Not sure how heat is transferred from air to water (or if it even is). But then again if the cover is clear, and is letting through nearly all of whatever wavelengths heat the water, maybe it's better to keep the cover on.

To cover or not to cover.........

 

[pooltime]

I am by no means an expert, but I always was able to heat a pool to a higher temperature with the sun when covered as opposed to uncovered. We used to have one of the blue bubble-wrap style covers in the past (now it is too hard for my wife to roll and unroll with 2 small kids out there) and we were able to heat the water to mid to upper 90's when the pool was covered for a few warm days.

 

[andrewg]

I think I would tend to agree, esp if clear (or nearly so) cover. With the cover and the heat pump working today, the pool temp rose about 12 degrees since first thing this morning.