Greetings, HP. I have talked to Covers in Play on a few occasions and like what little I know about their constructions, engineering and approach. Those Ontario guys understand how to handle snow load
In my particular instance, my footprint bordered by a terrace in the side of a hill with an angle wasn't an ideal fit for a retractable without ripping out and re shaping an uber expensive retaining wall and was further complicated by the physical dimensions of the pool house and house.
But in a new build on the right site and with an adequate budget, I'd do it in a heartbeat, especially with the therapeutic benefit
As far as running through winter, your circumstances will likely be a lot different than mine, but I am currently operating year round using a seasonal, inflatable dome supported by an air blower. I installed it this year in order to be able to do physiotherapy at home for a knee injury and compounded arthritis.
This winter operation is no small feat in Michigan, and has been awesome
In terms of energy cost, my highest month was $480 in natural gas through careful management -- which is considerably less than my share of physio would have been
. Previously, in open air my May bill would be almost as much running uncovered and to 88 via Thermostatting.
Eg, So in winter dome means: Keeping a 12 mil cover on the water except when swimming, scheduling automated but limited 3x daily heater runs to maintain 95 degrees instead of just Thermostatting for 24 hrs, etc. With the dome and in my case, we use an air warmer that attaches to the structural blower that increases air temps in the enclosure by as much as 20-30 degrees by cycling the warm pool water through a mini exchanger. To prevent deterioration from UV, the ceiling of the dome is not transparent (as its just heavy vinyl and ergo treated with a coating.)
In your case, with the beefier construction, I'd expect you to gain and retain a lot more heat via the sun through the clear panels.
I will link you to my dome thread where you might glean info worth considering...somewhere in there is a link for calculating heating costs by season and location.
Anyone Have a Winter Pool Dome - Ameridome or Others?
The thread chronicles the purchase and install so much of it won't be especially useful to you...let me know if you have specific questions and I'll try to assist you as able (off to a very early meeting right now.) Eg. I might be able to assist you in calculating real world energy costs by a combo of some questions for Covers in Play combined with gallonage, location, proposed btu of heat system etc. My own calcs turned out to be pretty accurate.
I'd also like you to seriously consider learning more about PROPER, eg TFP use of chlorine in a pool...I think you'll find that science shows its the only true way to go for a healthy, safe pool and that mch of the rest is hype. But I'll leave you to dig around this robust resource on that one
Lastly, I cannot tell you just how much of a difference year round swimming and physio makes in terms of health management and pain abatement. Your endeavor is wholly worth it
