Advice on color pool covers - Windy area

[SimpleMan]

So my pool and attached spa are irregularly shaped. A big pool cover with a crank to roll it up wouldn't fit with our fence line either.

I have been considering using solar lilly pads. Something like this:
ThermaSpring Solar Mat

We live on top of a hill, and get a lot of wind, and when the Santa Ana winds kick up, it's crazy. Has anyone had success with solar lily pads? I'm afraid that with a little wind, they would all just end up piled on top of one another, or worse: blowing out of the pool.

Is there another option I'm not thinking about to use as a solar heating device? I've seen the liquid pool covers, but with the wind I don't think that would be a viable option, plus I'm just now getting all the nasty s**t out of the pool and turning it into a TFP, so the thought of adding another chemical doesn't sit right with me just yet.

Thanks!

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The thread was supposed to be SOLAR POOL COVERS... Friggen autocorrect changed it to COLOR POOL COVERS. darn.

 

[chiefwej]

If you can't use a reel for a solar cover, another choice is to cut the cover in half. Use the thinnest, cheapest cover you can find. That makes very little difference in the performance, and they seldom last more than a year or so anyway. But that makes it much lighter and easier to handle. The primary function of a solar cover is to prevent heat loss, a lot of which is evaporative cooling. A thin cover works as well as any for that.