Solar panels usually on grass. Would putting them on pallets help?

[Slippery]

I have quite the collection of wood shipping pallets I’ve been hoarding for no good reason.

I usually have my 5 4x10 panels sit on the grass to warm the pool.

I was thinking for this season I might try raising them off the grassy ground on the pallets.

Would this help heat the pool faster? My assumption being that the ground acts like a heat sink. We get 30-40 degree daily swings here in the PNW summer. 90 degrees at peak during the day and 60 for the early morning low is typical. I assume the grass/dirt stays pretty cool underneath during the day

I have found that the panels don’t seem to get warm until noon-1pm even being in full sun starting at 7:30am.

I know it’s only February but I am so fricken done with quarantine and snow and ice that I am already dreaming of pool weather. Need something to look forward too right?

 

[mas985]

Grass and dry earth are a pretty good insulators so I am not sure the pallets would help. In fact, if there is a cool wind near the ground, it may even hurt some allowing more air underneath the panels. However, if the air temperature is warmer than pool temperature, the air can add heat as well. It just depends on the conditions. Either way, I doubt the difference is going to be substantial. Most of the heat gain from solar is direct solar radiation.

I have found that the panels don’t seem to get warm until noon-1pm even being in full sun starting at 7:30am.

You actually don't want the panels to get warm. If they do, that means that they are losing heat instead of transferring it to the pool. Under ideal conditions, the inlet vs outlet water temperature difference should be less than 5F and preferably less than 3F. This keeps the heat transfer efficiency high. The flow rate through panels determines the temperature differential, higher flow rate results in lower temperature differences.