solar pool cover & reel OR solar pool heating system

[bulsworth]

I am new to the forum and have been reading a lot of the articles and post. I live in las vegsas and just moved to a new house with a pool. The pool is concrete (i think). It is free form 13 ft wide by 23 ft long and 5 ft at the deepest part and a separate spa.The house and pool were barely taken care of but functioning. I had to fix some leaks in the levers, vacuum feet and pump housing unit plus replace the gas heater and pool light. We got a company that does the weekly maintenance until I can get things in order. We didn't realize the pool would be so expensive with energy and gas plus the maintenance cost.

For the energy we just placed an order for the intelliflo vrs pump since it was on sale and there is a rebate with our energy company. Am told it will save around $50 per month. I am hoping so since we have an old pump and that dial timer. Is this a good pump? Can it save us that much?

For the gas part we decided to not really use the gas heater unless it is for the spa or if gets extremely cold. We are thinking about getting a solar cover and reel and then next year getting a solar poll heating system. A coworker of mine father in law will sell me a cover and high end reel for $350 all in. Does this sound like a good idea?

Any recommendations on a system and installer in las Vegas?

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

The IntelliFlo is a great pump, a little more complex to setup correctly but it can save you a good amount of money. At the very least it should save you 50% of what you were paying to run the pool pump before. Under ideal conditions it can save significantly more than that.

A solar cover is a great idea.

 

[bulsworth]

Been looking at pool reels and noticed they don't really work with our pool since it is free form and have an elevated spa on one side and a waterfall in the other.

What do you guys think would be better?

Split solar reel http://www.solarfactory.com/solar-cover-roller.html

Solar sun rings - how many do you think I need? I did an online calculator and it said 6 but when I was at Leslie's they said 18.

 

[jblizzle]

The rings will not give as good of coverage and the wind may end up stacking them on one end of the pool.

I had considered buying (or building) the roller you have in the link there ... but I have yet to actually pull the trigger on a cover, I have a lot of solar panels which are doing a decent job without the hassle of a cover.

 

[Crystal]

Living in the desert, there really is no need for a solar cover except to extend the swim season by a month and frankly our season is long enough. Here in El Paso, the water gets too warm and we have to take it off. One advantage of a cover is that they do slow chemical loss and water loss due to evaporation. Unfortunately with our damaging desert sun, covers will only last two seasons, regardless of warranty. Leslie's Pool here has been really good about a prorated warranty and just have you bring in a piece of the damaged cover. Definitely buy the cover from someone who will stand behind the warranty because they will not last the 5 or 10 years they warranty them for. My cover reel is just taking up space in the backyard and haven't used it in a couple of years so I think you will be happy doing nothing this year and can look into solar heat next year if you think you want to extend the season.