Last year my pool was built and I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that I used it year round and spent quite a bit heating it during this last winter. After all it is Southern California and by the beach winters are milder than inland. But my dilemma is that I like my pool warm and yet I am cheap or at least not independently wealthy. Last winter, my gas bill was 600 during one month. Until i saw this bill, I was living large.
When I built the pool I was quoted roughly 8k for solar. I left this out of the build for the time being as it was out of the budget. Then last month a friend that has had pools asked why I hadn't done solar and he mentioned that materials were only about 2k or less. This peaked my interest and I started doing homework. What held me back from adding electric solar was the issue of how would I attach the panels to my metal standing seam roof. I couldnt envision running nails through the roof. As it turns out, this wasn't a big deal. A company called S5 makes a bunch of different clamps that attach to the seam. Once I saw this ability to affix items to the roof with these clamps it solved what I thought was an unsolvable hurdle.
I learned the basics of solar by googling. After reading lots I settled on hot sun industries product which would be a perfect match for my standing seam roof. My roof panel seams are at 17 inch spacing, leaving a perfect slot for the 13 inch wide hot sun powerstrips. I did like the heliocol product, but this would then not lay flat on the roof in between seams.
Originally I had plumbed pvc to the base of my prime 2nd story south facing roof for pool solar, but have chosen to use this prime area for electric solar panels. This left a smaller space above my single story garage adjacent to the pool equipment available for the pool solar. The downside of the single story garage location is there is only about 200sf of solar collectors for a 430sf pool, slightly undersized. Recommended is 75-100 percent coverage, relative to the pool surface area sqft. The upside is that it is right next to the pool equipment and only a single story, less plumbing, pressure and drag. Fortunately, the pool stays pretty warm as it is shallow in depth, in direct sun, has a black bottom and is well protected from wind. More panel area just wasn't an option in that location, design constraints limited the size.
I ordered my panels pre assembled, with most of the hardware necessary for assembly. Ken, the owner of hot sun was helpful in getting me started and all of the information needed to understand the operation of a solar system is on his website. I do think it is important to have a general understanding of mechanical principles, otherwise you might be confused by the process. I do have a BSME degree, so I feel entirely capable, however the science needed to understand the basic principles and functions is only middle school science. Having basic mechanical aptitude and understanding is all that is necessary, no BSME degree needed.
The integration into my existing Pentair Easy Touch system was simple for fully automatic operation. The panel has connections for a solar electric valve and solar temp sensor. On the Pentair Screenlogic configuration page, I selected solar as present. Then I temporarily hooked up the auto valve and temp sensor and verified that these items functioned before the complete build out. During the day when the sensor was hot enough, the valve would open when solar was selected and did not open during the night, looks like it functions correctly. After the system was installed I just added a separate solar pump speed of 1800 rpm to generate enough pressure to charge the panels. My normal pool circuit speed is only 1200 which produces less than 3 psi of pressure, not enough to drive the water high enough to reach the panels. Selecting the solar circuit pump speed to be 1800 rpm generated about 5 psi in the system. Enough to get the water high enough to flow through the panels. This worked perfectly as I have set a schedule of the pool pump to come on at 9 am and go off around 5 pm. during the first day of operation the pool pump came on at 9 am at it's whisper quiet speed of 1200 rpm. at 9:22, the temperature reading was high enough to trigger the solar, the pump turned up to 1800 rpm and the solar valve opened. The system works flawlessly.
During the first week of operation, the 2nd week of october, we had all sunny days and unseasonably warm temperatures ranging from the high 70's into the high 80's. Results saw the solar turning on around 9:15 to 10 depending upon cloud cover and turning off around 4:30 to 5 pm. Pool temperatures consistently peaked around 84-85 degrees. Other than heating the spa, I haven't turned on the heater yet this week, obviously no need to. Without the solar panels the pool might be about 3-5 degrees colder. I do use a pool cover as well. The real test will be during December and January and February when days are shorter and the sun in lower in the sky. It is not likely that the system will get temps into the low 80's except on our occasional winter heat wave, but hopefully the extra sun will add a little heat to the pool everyday, and keep the ground and pool warmer so any heat needed is minimal.
I would say that the process was certainly more work than I had anticipated. I spent quite a bit of time planning out the build. The shear number of cut and glued connections was also much greater than anticipated, well over 100+ glued joints. Since gluing PVC is rather permanent, going slow, measuring twice and cutting once was the order of the day. I probably spent close to 60 hours on just the installation alone, not including learning planning and designing. Which makes a $7,000 bid seem not unrealistic. But there is a certain satisfaction in doing the job myself. Next up will be solar panels. I bought enough roof clamps for this job as well. My estimate for materials on this job is $12,000 on a retail cost of $25,000 to $30,000.
Pool just completed before landscaping
When I built the pool I was quoted roughly 8k for solar. I left this out of the build for the time being as it was out of the budget. Then last month a friend that has had pools asked why I hadn't done solar and he mentioned that materials were only about 2k or less. This peaked my interest and I started doing homework. What held me back from adding electric solar was the issue of how would I attach the panels to my metal standing seam roof. I couldnt envision running nails through the roof. As it turns out, this wasn't a big deal. A company called S5 makes a bunch of different clamps that attach to the seam. Once I saw this ability to affix items to the roof with these clamps it solved what I thought was an unsolvable hurdle.
I learned the basics of solar by googling. After reading lots I settled on hot sun industries product which would be a perfect match for my standing seam roof. My roof panel seams are at 17 inch spacing, leaving a perfect slot for the 13 inch wide hot sun powerstrips. I did like the heliocol product, but this would then not lay flat on the roof in between seams.
Originally I had plumbed pvc to the base of my prime 2nd story south facing roof for pool solar, but have chosen to use this prime area for electric solar panels. This left a smaller space above my single story garage adjacent to the pool equipment available for the pool solar. The downside of the single story garage location is there is only about 200sf of solar collectors for a 430sf pool, slightly undersized. Recommended is 75-100 percent coverage, relative to the pool surface area sqft. The upside is that it is right next to the pool equipment and only a single story, less plumbing, pressure and drag. Fortunately, the pool stays pretty warm as it is shallow in depth, in direct sun, has a black bottom and is well protected from wind. More panel area just wasn't an option in that location, design constraints limited the size.
I ordered my panels pre assembled, with most of the hardware necessary for assembly. Ken, the owner of hot sun was helpful in getting me started and all of the information needed to understand the operation of a solar system is on his website. I do think it is important to have a general understanding of mechanical principles, otherwise you might be confused by the process. I do have a BSME degree, so I feel entirely capable, however the science needed to understand the basic principles and functions is only middle school science. Having basic mechanical aptitude and understanding is all that is necessary, no BSME degree needed.
The integration into my existing Pentair Easy Touch system was simple for fully automatic operation. The panel has connections for a solar electric valve and solar temp sensor. On the Pentair Screenlogic configuration page, I selected solar as present. Then I temporarily hooked up the auto valve and temp sensor and verified that these items functioned before the complete build out. During the day when the sensor was hot enough, the valve would open when solar was selected and did not open during the night, looks like it functions correctly. After the system was installed I just added a separate solar pump speed of 1800 rpm to generate enough pressure to charge the panels. My normal pool circuit speed is only 1200 which produces less than 3 psi of pressure, not enough to drive the water high enough to reach the panels. Selecting the solar circuit pump speed to be 1800 rpm generated about 5 psi in the system. Enough to get the water high enough to flow through the panels. This worked perfectly as I have set a schedule of the pool pump to come on at 9 am and go off around 5 pm. during the first day of operation the pool pump came on at 9 am at it's whisper quiet speed of 1200 rpm. at 9:22, the temperature reading was high enough to trigger the solar, the pump turned up to 1800 rpm and the solar valve opened. The system works flawlessly.
During the first week of operation, the 2nd week of october, we had all sunny days and unseasonably warm temperatures ranging from the high 70's into the high 80's. Results saw the solar turning on around 9:15 to 10 depending upon cloud cover and turning off around 4:30 to 5 pm. Pool temperatures consistently peaked around 84-85 degrees. Other than heating the spa, I haven't turned on the heater yet this week, obviously no need to. Without the solar panels the pool might be about 3-5 degrees colder. I do use a pool cover as well. The real test will be during December and January and February when days are shorter and the sun in lower in the sky. It is not likely that the system will get temps into the low 80's except on our occasional winter heat wave, but hopefully the extra sun will add a little heat to the pool everyday, and keep the ground and pool warmer so any heat needed is minimal.
I would say that the process was certainly more work than I had anticipated. I spent quite a bit of time planning out the build. The shear number of cut and glued connections was also much greater than anticipated, well over 100+ glued joints. Since gluing PVC is rather permanent, going slow, measuring twice and cutting once was the order of the day. I probably spent close to 60 hours on just the installation alone, not including learning planning and designing. Which makes a $7,000 bid seem not unrealistic. But there is a certain satisfaction in doing the job myself. Next up will be solar panels. I bought enough roof clamps for this job as well. My estimate for materials on this job is $12,000 on a retail cost of $25,000 to $30,000.
Pool just completed before landscaping
