Any benefit from bubbles-up solar blanket?

[MirellaJoe]

I was just wondering since i just bought myself a cheapie 8mil dark blue solar blanket? I've been reading mixed reviews on the net but not sure since i just put my solar blanket bubble up not knowing i put it upside down

any thoughts??

 

[Knarf]

I really don't think there's going to be much of a difference in results (up or down), the main benefits from a solar cover are keeping in the heat, reducing evaporation and it also decrease chlorine usage. I would not worry if it's up or down you'll still benefit from having it on, although I do put mine down but mostly from habit.

Enjoy

 

[linen]

Bubbles go down. I know of only disadvantages to having the bubbles up:

• Lower insulation value due to not have the trapped quiescent air.
  More rapid failure of the thin bubble membrane from the sun.

 

[MirellaJoe]

thanks guys well i got hubby to help me turn over the solar blanket. Now it's on right.

but seriously how effective are solar blankets?

 

[linen]

Very effective when used a night. They prevent heat lost due to evaporation. I probably keep my pool 5F warmer just due to having my cover on at night.

Being used during the day and getting any heatt advantage is more complex. Some combination of low air temp, low humidity, high wind and having it on will retain heat during the day. But if the air temp is above the pool temp, if the wind is low, and at normal/high humidity (in your climate and mine), it is usually better to leave them off and let the sun do the work of heating the pool.

By the way, it is unfortunate they are called "solar covers" since they tend to reduce how much the sun is able to heat the bulk pool water...although as mentioned in the "during the day" comments above, in certain instances they may have a small advantage.

 

[techguy]

How much more effective is a solar blanket over a simple blue tarp and some pool noodles? I have always wondered...

 

[chem geek]

We don't have a pool tarp, but have a relatively thin opaque electric safety cover and I can tell you that the heat loss from it is roughly double that of an insulating bubble-type solar cover. So having the thickness and air insulation does make a difference. Though my cover cuts out evaporation, it doesn't do very much for reducing conduction which is what a bubble-type cover additionally does.

Roughly speaking, the use of a cover that cuts out evaporation reduces heat loss to around half while using a typical insulating bubble-type cover cuts the loss in half again, to 25% of uncovered losses. Obviously the exact amounts depend on things like wind and humidity levels -- we don't have wind at night and not too much during the day and typically have moderate (40-60%) humidity.