Hello all, Just wanted to get your all opinions of the best method for heating the pool with sunlight, I already have a solar cover however I want to enhance it with the free energy from the sun. I want feedback on both DYI and manufactured versions of available collectors. I do have 100% sunlight except for maybe the last hour of daylight, and plenty of room to place what ever necessary close to the pool, but roof mounting is not an option.
Solar Heating Options
- Thread starter Pool Noob
- Start date
Solar heat is a great approach as long as you have somewhere to put the panels. The commercial collectors are much more efficient than anything you could possibly build yourself.
Solar heating is all about the sqft of tubes/hose exposed to the sun. And they are more efficient if you heat a lot of water a couple degrees than if you heat a little water a lot of degrees. People try to use irrigation hose or garden hoses, but if you calculate the sqft exposed to the sun, it would take 100s of feet to match even the smallest solar mat.
I agree with Jason, you can not build something that will give you the same amount of heat for less than what you can buy the commercial solar mats ... check out Ebay as there are many inexpensive options there.
I agree with Jason, you can not build something that will give you the same amount of heat for less than what you can buy the commercial solar mats ... check out Ebay as there are many inexpensive options there.
f3justusc
Well-known member
I am not sure that even though you have the ground space you want to spread panels over a lot of it. I purchased the solar panels shown in my signature. Instead of being the standard 20 feet long, these are only 10 feet long. I was able to put them on top of my trellis and they work great. I get about 4.5 hours of good sun each day and I get a 2-4 degree temp rise depending on cloudiness. I am very happy with them.
Love my solar panels, definitely worth having. They are on the roof of a shed/poolhouse/teahut between the pool and equipment. I am consistently getting 3-4 degree 24 hour temperature gains when mostly sunny and not raining. Pool went from 61 Mar 15 to 78 Apr 3 with no cover.
Some people build an angled holder on the ground that holds them up at an angle facing the sun.
Some people build an angled holder on the ground that holds them up at an angle facing the sun.