Hello guys i finally finish re-piping my pool and installing my new Hayward DE 6020 filter. Now i wanted to find out if solar panels are really worth it? and which one do you guys recommend. By the way my pool is 32x18 and has approximately 17k gallons. Get a pool cover and solar panels?
Help Installing solar panels
- Thread starter cubajorge2008
- Start date
Get both. I live in Valrico, just east of Tampa. Solar panels are very practical. Allows swimming water temperatures when the air doesn't. However because the water is warm, and the air is cold, you will have a high evaporation rate. That is why you will also need the solar cover.
Thanks for the fast reply wow! so according to my pool measurements any idea how many panels i need?
They are definitely worth it. As many as you have room for and can afford. There are guides which use the surface area of the pool, but even a couple of panels will help, and more will make it heat faster.
Yes! my first house with pool and i haven't been able to swim on it yet lol. water is at 65F. i will be buying panels hopefully this weekend. thank you guys
You'll work pretty hard in Tampa to swim this time of year. Unless you are swimming laps, the air is going to be cold when you get out. I can keep my pool in the 85 degree range to swim into October, but once the air temperature is less than 80 or so, nobody is interested in swimming.
I can get my pool to 90 in the summer by using panels/pool cover for a few weeks in April/May and then just covering it the rest of summer. Once October rolls around I lose a couple a degrees a week, solar doesn't do a darn thing (mine face west, not ideal). I was 90 degrees on 9/13, 80 degrees on 10/25 and 70 degrees on 11/22. This was solar off, cover on.
Location and coverage percentage are everything when it comes to solar, the problem is in the winter time you are fighting 3 issues at once, lower outdoor temperatures, less hours of sunlight, and less heat available from the sun. However for central FL it is possible to maintain near year around swim temperatures with a combination of a solar cover to prevent evaporative cooling, and around 100% panel to pool surface area size ratio. Exact panel size also depends on how warm you want the water, if panels are at optimal angle, shading, etc.
p.s. For me with about 75% coverage and an indoor pool in south Louisiana I loose the battle against declining temperatures usually in mid November when the first strong cold fronts come through and we have a week of weather that never gets out of the 50's and lows somewhere in the 30's. For me things just seem to spiral down rapidly going from mid 80 degree water one week to high 70's the next, and somewhere in the 60's the next.
p.s. For me with about 75% coverage and an indoor pool in south Louisiana I loose the battle against declining temperatures usually in mid November when the first strong cold fronts come through and we have a week of weather that never gets out of the 50's and lows somewhere in the 30's. For me things just seem to spiral down rapidly going from mid 80 degree water one week to high 70's the next, and somewhere in the 60's the next.