New to solar

[cncelctrc]

Just built a new in-ground liner pool. It is about 30000 gallons. I have 2 skimmers plumbed on separate 2.5" lines and 6 returns plumbed in pairs on 3 separate 2" lines. Each return line has it's own Jandy valve. My pump is a Hayward Ecostar VS pump. I planned on adding a heat pump someday and pre-plumbed for it, but just didn't have the funds to do it right now. After reading some posts on here about heating, I found a lot of people are going with solar. I would like to possibly add this but have a question about connecting it up to my system. My equipment pad is about 50 feet away from my pool. If I did solar panels, they would have to go on the west side of my roof which is right next to the pool. It would be really difficult to do the plumbing to the solar all the way back to the pad. I have 1 of the 3 return lines within about 3 feet of where the solar plumbing would run to the roof.

Could I just split this return line to plumb the solar in? I know I would need a bypass valve, solar controller, and all the other equipment for solar. I just need to know if it would work ok to just plumb it in with 1 of the 3 return lines. I tried searching all over this site before posting this, but looks like everyone takes right off their filter directly to the solar and then to the pool. I could do that but would take about 100 feet of pipe to get to the roof and back to the pad, not to mention all the distance the water has to travel through the solar panels before it makes it to the pool. Just seems to make more sense coming off this one return line. I know that I will only be taking heated water to the pool through that one line with 2 returns, but figure with the circulation, it still should heat the pool.

Can some of the solar experts please give me some advice on this? Thanks for your time!

 

[ping]

I would say this is not the best plumbing situation to run solar as it seems the returns are run in parallel and the flow for the panels is dramatically reduced with a single pump. I'm not sure if it will work with the plumbing setup that you are running or if it would require a dedicated solar pump. Hopefully this response will get others to chime in.

 

[mas985]

The problem is pressure. Tapping the return line that close to the pool will have very low flow rate because of the return line split (~1:6) but also very low pressure given the distance from the pump and not enough to lift the water to the roof.

To minimize pump RPM and save on energy costs, you will want to send all of the water to the panels as close to the pump as possible (post filter) and then after solar split the water 6 ways to each return. This will maintain the pressure to lift the water and the flow rate for maximum panel efficiency.

What is the direction of the roof closes to the equipment pad? Or is there any real estate for ground panels near the equipment?

 

[cncelctrc]

Thanks Mark for info. That makes sense with the pressure and didn't think about that. The roof closest to the pad faces east direction, so that wouldn't work for the solar panels. Don't have much room for ground panels there either. Looks like if I want to do solar with the equipment I have, I will need to come off the filter, then all the way to the solar panels, and then back to the manifold that splits 3 ways to the returns. That would be about 40 feet to the roof line, through all the solar panels, then 40 feet back to the return manifold.

 

[mas985]

The roof closest to the pad faces east direction, so that wouldn't work for the solar panels.

East side still works, just not as well. You would need larger panels to compensate for the efficiency loss.

That would be about 40 feet to the roof line, through all the solar panels, then 40 feet back to the return manifold.

That isn't too bad. How much total sq-ft will the panels be?

Looks like if I want to do solar with the equipment I have, I will need to come off the filter, then all the way to the solar panels, and then back to the manifold that splits 3 ways to the returns.

You would probably want to plumb back into the system before the heater if you decide to get one. Many heaters alarm if on and flow stops so you would want flow through the heater when the pump is on. Are you planning a SWG? Another reason to plumb the return before the heater. Most installers will put the return TEE right after the solar valve. This allows you to run at the lowest RPM and still keep the VRV closed.

Will you be using a solar controller that is VS compatible?

 

[pooldv]

Moving water horizontally doesn't increase pump head very much. My plumbing goes filter to solar to heat pump to SWG and on to the pool. Highly recommend using a solar controller with a variable speed pump to dial in the flow. More in my pool thread, link in sig.

 

[cncelctrc]

Don't know how many sq-ft the panels will be yet. Hadn't looked that far ahead. This would be a future project and just wanted to prep for it if possible. The pool isn't finished yet and my plumbing is still all exposed, so it would be a good time to make changes.

Not planning on a SWG.

If I did do solar and got a controller, it will be VS compatible.

 

[mknauss]

The problem is pressure. Tapping the return line that close to the pool will have very low flow rate because of the return line split (~1:6) but also very low pressure given the distance from the pump and not enough to lift the water to the roof.

Would it be OK to do as the OP originally stated if the two additional pairs of returns were shut off during solar? I would think you would want some automation to make this happen.

Just a thought --

Take care.

 

[mas985]

In order for there to be enough pressure for priming and vrv closure, all of the other returns would need to be shut off. But even then, it may not be enough because of the now higher head loss between pump and panels. The pump would probably need to run at full speed making for a very inefficient system.