Solar pool covers are designed to assist in heating a swimming pool with heat from the sun by covering the entire water surface of a swimming pool when not in use. Solar pool covers also act as insulators to maximize heat retention, reduce the amount of water your swimming pool will use in a season, reduce the amount of chemicals you'll use, and keep the pool cleaner by keeping dirt out. They are a great compliment to any heating system, whether solar, natural gas or heat exchange, and can be used with indoor or outdoor swimming pools. By keeping heat in the pool you reduce the amount of make up heat required and can reduce your heating bill significantly. Solar pool covers are also known as solar blankets, swimming pool blankets, floating covers or thermal covers.
The difference between a solar pool cover and a standard opaque swimming pool cover is that the solar cover still lets in a significant amount of light whereas a traditional flat, vinyl swimming pool cover can block much of the incoming sunlight significantly reducing or eliminating the effects of direct heating from the sun shining on the pool's surface. Traditional pool covers are usually made from vinyl, while solar covers are plastic or aluminized materials.
The air filled bubbles of a solar cover not only help to diffuse light from the sun spreading it over a wider area, they provide a bit of a buffer zone between the air and the pool water, giving added insulative properties for better heat retention than a traditional cover. These bubbles are pockets of air, and they look a lot like packing bubbles but the plastic is thicker and made with an UV inhibitor to prevent it from damage by the sun.
A solar cover heats slowly, in part because of the huge amount of water, maybe 2 degrees a day depending on your location, so it is vital you leave the pool covered when not in use. However, some sources report first day temperature rises in the spring to be 10 degress. Both traditional vinyl covers and solar blankets prevent heat loss from water evaporation or cooling winds so you can retain heat longer, reducing the cost to heat your pool, but a solar covers added heating may increase the efficiency of your solar panels or solar pool heater.
A solar cover is a great choice if your swimming pool is in partial to full sunlight for most of the day, but the insulative properties of a solar cover make it good for any pool, even an indoor pool.
Some people question the effectiveness of a solar blanket in heating. Heat is provided by the sun through passive direct solar heating in the swimming pool. More heating will be provided by a solar blanket if you live in a sunny area, the sun is directly overhead, and if the bottom of your pool is a dark color. Even if you live in a cool climate that is mostly cloudy and have a light colored pool there will still be some heating provided with a solar cover, and certainly more than a vinyl swimming pool cover which doesn't admit any light at all.
Many customers report not even using any heating source, including solar, when using a cover because the temperature rise is great enough to put the pool water in the comfort range. Some have reported going from spending more than $200 a month in natural gas to paying nothing. Many pool cover manufacturers claim you can cut heating requirements by 70%. It is possible to attain a pool temperature about 10 - 15 degrees F warmer with a solar cover, achieving a temperature in the low to mid 80's while a comparable pool without a cover would only be in the mid 70's.
Although even a typical inexpensive solar pool cover should last 2 to 3 years, some people have reported replacing them more than once a season. Using a solar pool cover reel will greatly reduce the risk of accidental tears and extend the life of the cover.
If you live in an area with summer storms with heavy rain or hail get the thickest solar cover you can and they may resist damage from the weather. Some people prefer to buy the cheaper covers despite the limited durability and replace them more often. Some feel that the cheaper blue blankets last just as long as the more expensive aluminized versions, but cost much less.
UV rays from the sun attack the plastic and cause it to break down quickly, even with UV inhibitors added to the plastic, so get it out of the sun when not in use by rolling it on a reel. If your cover comes with a protective sheet, make sure you use it when rolling up the reel, otherwise the effect of the sun will be amplified and cast onto the rest of the cover heating it internally, which will decrease the lifetime. Also, if your reel is on wheels, reel the whole assembly into the shade when the cover isn't on the pool.
Wash with water and a brush once a season. Don't use dish soap on plastic! You could buy a small car wash brush from the automotive store, one that has a broom handle on it. Use it only for cleaning your pool cover. Position your pool cover reel back a few feet from the edge of the pool. Reel in a few feet of the cover and brush it off. Brush it dry most of the time, but you can occasionally use a wet brush if you have bird excrement or other harsh spots. During the winter months keep it inside. Extreme temperature changes may decrease the life span too, so if you can, store it in a basement or other stable temperature location during winter months.
The ultimate test of a cover's durability will be your specific environment, how careful you are handling the cover, and how well you follow the manufacturer's maintenance instructions.
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