Is it worth connecting a woefully inadequate solar heater?

[Brett S]

I recently upgraded from a little 15’ round pool to a 32’x16’ rectangular pool. I have a solar bear 4’x20’ solar heater that I was using for the little pool. It was a good size for the small pool and seemed to work pretty well. I just had the heater laying in my yard, which wasn’t a really good installation option and I had to remove it to make room for the big pool.

I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth trying to hook up that heater for the big pool or if it will really be too small to make much of a difference. I’d like to use it to try to extend the swimming season as much as possible, but frankly, here in Florida the swimming season is already pretty long.

It would definitely be a lot of work to try to mount it somewhere and plumb it in and I’m questioning whether there would be enough benefit to do all that work.

On a side note, if anyone near Orlando needs a 4’x20’ solar bear heater I might just happen to know where you could find one at a good price

 

[jseyfert3]

I haven't personally used solar heaters, but let's look at a few numbers cause I like math.

The rule of thumb I've read around here is you want about 50% surface area of heaters to pool surface area to get a noticeable effect. You were at 45% with the small pool, so pretty close to the 50% rule of thumb. You're now down to 16% with the larger pool. Roughly speaking, it's only going to be about 1/3 as effective as it was on your smaller pool vs having no heater at all, assuming both pools have the same amount of sunlight and the heaters would as well.

 

[RDspaguy]

Free heat is free heat. It may not be enough, but it's free. Maybe invest in a couple more and you don't need an expensive gas heater or heat pump. Solar has some drawbacks, but free heat makes up for alot. I worked in Boulder for a few years when you had to provide for 100% of your pool energy useage, or 25% of the whole properties energy usage, by renewable resources or you could not get a permit to build your pool. Alot of solar everything going on there.