Solar cover or heater?

[nebtex]

Wondering about a solar cover will it add enough heat to make the work and from reviews repurchase every few years worth it.
or
Do we spend more on a solar panel heater unit? Problem is where my equipment is currently located, there is a large shade tree covering most of that roof area. Can these be put into a different spot and piped or do I loose too much heat?

 

[ajw22]

Solar cover does not add much if any heat. A solar cover will retain heat by preventing evaporation.

Solar Covers - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I think you can pipe solar heat panels without losing much heat. Post some pics of your area or drawings of your situation.

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

Solar covers in sunny areas do add heat. My pool is about 3 degrees warmer than the average temperature here is on a running average. If you do serious research, you will find that even solar panel companies tell you to do a cover first and then add panels. Less will be needed mainly because you cut down on evaporative cooling at night, but you do get some net heat from the sun also. Do a cover first. Add panels later.

I am considering panels too, but in my case since my back yard faces north I'd either would have to put panels on the roof front of my house which I don't want to do or put them on the back fence row. If I do that they will literally be on the opposite side of the equipment pad. So If I do this, I probably will be using a second pump. If I am really clever maybe I can get a solar one to work. So you don't NEED to run the main pump to flow water through the panels. If you do pipe back, use black pipes (paint them) and you'll get a slight bit of extra heat from them in sunny areas. If I ran them back to the equipment pad that is what I would do with the long run (or bury a part of them).

I think I'm going to tackle a SWCG first though this year.. Panels can be the next project... Good luck on your project though. You can get two more months in a southern climate with a properly sized system. I've done the math on mine. Do a bit of Googling and you can even find calculators. You generally need 2x the surface area of the pool in panels or more for an effective system.

 

[Newdude]

You can experiment with the solar cover without adding a heater. Most retain between 5-7 degrees above average temperature over a few days. It’s great when it’s 72+. but kind of a moot point if the average temp is in the 60 degree range.

However, once you spend good money on a heater, the solar cover becomes a must to retain the bulk of the heat you made. Especially if you paid a small fortune to make that heat with electric/gas.

 

[Eddie_C]

Wondering about a solar cover will it add enough heat to make the work and from reviews repurchase every few years worth it.
or
Do we spend more on a solar panel heater unit? Problem is where my equipment is currently located, there is a large shade tree covering most of that roof area. Can these be put into a different spot and piped or do I loose too much heat?

I had been using a solar cover for a few years, and it worked ok, but the water never really warmed up enough to be at a comfortable level to swim until nearly late June when it gets really hot here anyway. (We are in Cincinnati metro). 4 years ago I added a 250k BTU gas heater. Now we'll turn that on early and late in the year to extend the season and add a few degrees to make it comfortable as needed. I still use the cover because I'll lose all that heat overnight. I'm sure it will be the same for solar panels too.
By the way, I've tried thicker/expensive covers and cheap ones. It doesn't seem to matter. None of them last for more than 2-3 years. If you try to use them longer than that they begin to decompose and leave little tiny blue specs of plastic in your water and filter.

 

[Kathe]

We purchased a heat pump and use it during the day time along with the sun to increase the temp. It's a waste of electricity to use it at night or under 65 degree days. We also use a clear (actually they aren't clear) bubble cover 16 mil. It will minimize heat loss at night, and help protect the pool from debris. I read where a dark color bubble cover will help prevent chlorine loss from the sun. I haven't tried that yet. I got 3 years out of my first bubble cover 16 mil. I bought a 12 mil after that and it only lasted one summer well...the second summer the bubbles broke down and were all over my pool. This year, i have another new 16 mil cover and we'll see how well it goes. Got it from Dougherty's online.