recommend a solar pool heater for my sister in New Jersey

[twd000]

had to resurrect my old TFP account to ask a question on behalf of my sister

she has a 30,000 gallon pool in New Jersey. 16'x44' (700 sq ft surface area)

Pool gets full sun exposure for most of the day and in fact overheats a bit by the heat of July & August

She is looking to get 5-10 degrees of temperature increase, extending the spring and fall season by 2-3 weeks of possible

She has a bubble cover but I explained that mostly prevents evaporation but doesn't add much heat

In the past, I had some simple 1/2" black poly pipe coils on my shed roof in Arizona which added plenty of heat, but then again it's an entirely different climate in the mid-Atlantic

So if anyone can save me a few hours of research and make a recommendation so I don't waste her money, I would appreciate

 

[ajw22]

What type of a roof does your sister have and which way does it face?

Does she have 500-700 feet of roof to mount solar panels?

Any solar system on the roof needs to be able to withstand a large winter snow pack on top of it. That plus the higher latitude and lower sun angle in NJ is why you don’t find a lot of pool solar heating there.

Solar Pool Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[twd000]

What type of a roof does your sister have and which way does it face?

Does she have 500-700 feet of roof to mount solar panels?

Any solar system on the roof needs to be able to withstand a large winter snow pack on top of it. That plus the higher latitude and lower sun angle in NJ is why you don’t find a lot of pool solar heating there.

Solar Pool Heaters - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Standard asphalt shingle roof

House and pool face southeast

I’m surprised she’d need 500-700 square feet of collection area- is that based on a certain amount of temperature rise?

 

[ajw22]

Best is a western exposure.

Have you read Solar Pool Heaters - Further Reading ?

 

[twd000]

Best is a western exposure.

Have you read Solar Pool Heaters - Further Reading ?

She also has a huge 5 acre lawn with no tree shade . Could she set solar collectors on the ground and tilt them towards the sun? Instead of mounting on the roof?

 

[Ahultin]

You can absolutely ground mount them. Keep in mind this increases cost as well as requires manually "winterizing" the system prior to potential for freeze since ground mount the system will not self drain.