| The cheapest way to heat your pool is to uses | | | | panels could cost you between $2000 and $4000 |
| the free heat of the sun, but the initial out lay for | | | | depending on the manufacturer you choose, |
| the kit is quite high. Lets have a look at whats | | | | ALTERNATIVES |
| needed to heat a pool, and how it can be done on | | | | If you have ever left your garden hose laying in |
| a budget. | | | | the sun you will know how hot the water can get, |
| Every solar heating system takes pool water, | | | | so lets consider using black irrigation hose to heat |
| pumps it through a heat exchanger, and returns | | | | the water, you will need an area that is as large |
| the water to the pool at a higher temperature. | | | | as possible, possibly a roof where you can loop |
| The method of pumping the water is usually the | | | | the pipe back and forth without kinking it. The |
| pools filtration circulating pump, which can often be | | | | area needs to be flat, (no humps and bumps) but |
| quite large, in the 1 to 2 horse power range. this | | | | can be inclined. The water would be pumped to |
| means that to heat your pool you would need to | | | | the top of the incline and allowed to run back to |
| run your filter pump for up to 8 hours a day, | | | | the pool picking up heat on the way, the more |
| which uses 6000 watts of electricity a day or 6 | | | | pipe that you can add to the run the better, think |
| kwh. | | | | in terms of 500 meters of three quarter inch |
| The second part of the system is the heat | | | | inside diameter tube. If you are laying a patio |
| exchanger, commonly these are glazed solar | | | | around the pool, lay as much of the pipe in to the |
| panels with a pipe looping back and forth across | | | | concrete just below the tile level as the concrete |
| the panel to absorb as much of the suns heat as | | | | will get hot in the sun and transfer that heat to |
| it can, typically the area of the solar panels needs | | | | the tube. The cost of 500 meters of black |
| to be greater than 50% of the pool area, and | | | | irrigation pipe should not be more that about $100. |
| often up to the whole pool area in size to give a | | | | The pump is the next thing to consider, the 1hp |
| sufficient increase in temperature. | | | | filter pump will cost around $0.75 to $1.00 a day |
| The forth part of the system is a controller that | | | | to run, so lets look at a 12 volt dc surface pump |
| ensures that the system only runs when there is | | | | that will lift the pool water to the top of the |
| a difference in temperature between the heat in | | | | incline, and if you connect it to a solar electric |
| the heat exchanger and the water in the pool. If | | | | panel will work all the hours of sunlight for nothing. |
| the system was to run while the pool was hotter | | | | the other advantage of this method is that you |
| than the panels the heat would be radiated away. | | | | can do without a controller as the pump will only |
| A solar heating system using the traditional solar | | | | work when the sun is out. |