Solar Swimming Pool Heater

Operating a swimming pool can be quite cost-prohibitive when you factor in the price of chlorine, heaters, water, and filtration systems. However, the use of a solar swimming pool heater can significantly reduce the cost of heating your pool.

A swimming pool heater that operates on solar power usually has a cost structure that is comparable to that of a similar heat pump or gas heater; additionally, solar heaters have extremely low annual costs. The use of solar pool heating is the most cost-effective use of the sun’s energy in some climates.

In most cases, a solar swimming pool heater consists of a some type of solar collection device, which is used to circulate water that is warmed by the sun, a filter to remove any leaves or other type of debris before the water is pumped through the collector, a pump to circulate pool water to the heater and the filter, and a value to control the flow of the entire system, so that it can be diverted through the solar collector and heated.

There are two types of collector systems: a glazed system and an unglazed system. A glazed collector system is more expensive to purchase and is comprised of copper tubing on an aluminum with a iron-tempered glass covering. Additionally, some glazed collector systems capture heat more effectively than their cousins, unglazed collectors, and can be used all year long in many climates. Additionally, they can be used to heat hot water for in-home use during the entire year. Both types of collector systems should include protection from freezing if they are going to be used in colder weather conditions.

Of course, for some the idea of using solar power for a swimming pool filter may not be what they had in mind, and for those, both gas and heat pump powered a swimming pool heater is available. If you are a little bit uncertain about the efficiency of solar swimming pool heater, keep in mind that we have been using solar energy for many years to heat our pools, just not with the use of a solar collector.