How Effective Is Solar Pool Heating?

Backyard swimming pools are a mysterious item around homes. That’s because there is usually no middle ground as far as their use. Families either use them very seldom or can’t seem to get enough of them.

Those families that can’t get enough of their swimming pools are the ones that like to use them as long as possible. In many cases that means extending the pool season by heating those pools. The only problem with that is electric heat pumps and gas heaters can be expensive to run.

Since that is the case, more and more people are now looking to add low-cost solar pool heaters to their homes. So one may wonder how effective is solar pool heating? 

How Do Solar Pool Heaters Work?

Solar pool heaters use special rooftop or ground-mounted solar mats that are plumbed into the pool’s existing circulation system. During the daylight hours as the sun hits these special solar mats, they are designed to capture that heat the sun’s rays produce. This heat is then transferred into the water that circulates through the pool plumbing system. During this process, the water in the swimming pool will gradually start to heat up over time. 

How Effective Are Solar Pool Heaters?

Solar pool heating is very effective and can substantially increase your pool temperatures year-round. This can add a number of swim months to the year, and increase your pool’s use a great deal. This is what our clients love most about our solar pool heating systems!

The graph below is based on actual data, and provides a clear picture of just how effective solar pool heating is if you live in Florida.

What Solar Pool Heaters Can’t Do

If you are the type of person that likes their swimming pool water to be unusually warm at all times, then solar pool heating is probably not your best option. We are talking about those people that prefer their swimming pool water to be at 82° or higher and who like to get to that temperature quickly if the pool water has dropped on cooler days. 

You have to keep in mind that solar pool heaters are not designed to increase swimming pool water rapidly. It’s a slow but consistent process that can be done even on days with partial sunshine. 

However, they do a very nice job of maintaining a swimming pool temperature under 82° if you live in a more southerly climate zone and faithfully cover the swimming pool with a solar blanket when the pool is not being used. This is the same reason some are led to ask can you leave pool heater on overnight.

You should also not make the mistake of thinking that your solar swimming pool heating system will work the same every single day that you have it on. That’s because the amount of available sunshine, wind speed, and ambient air temperature all play a role in how efficient your rooftop solar pool heater is on any given day.

Realistically speaking, on a sunny day that is not below 50°, you can expect the heat rise in the swimming pool to be about 1° every for or five hours will a rooftop solar pool heater in operation. That is enough heat to maintain most swimming pools at a very comfortable swim temperature for most people. Here is some information about when to turn pool heater on.

Also, you might be wondering can pool heaters freeze. This is something that doesn’t happen with solar pool heaters!

The Bottom Line with Solar Heating

So where does all of this information leave us as far as how effective is solar pool heating goes? It turns out solar heating is very effective if the conditions for it are right. That means when the suns out they work great and even on cloudy days they will still put some heat in a swimming pool.

They will even work well on cooler days if the sun is shining. We also have learned they are not quick heat-generating devices, the steadily add heat over time and you need to keep a solar blanket on your swimming pool at night to make them as impactful as possible.

Most people also supplement their solar heat with gas heaters or heat pumps. This eliminates the possibility of having no heat go into a swimming pool at night or on very cloudy days.

But overall, solar heating systems have proven to be well worth the initial outlay of money that it costs to get them installed. Best of all, once installed they cost only pennies a day to run. Click here if you want to know about can pool heaters be inside.

So how effective is solar pool heating? We would have to say very effective especially when combined with a powerful and just as efficient and eco-friendly heat pump.

For your swimming pool heating needs, call Wayne’s Solar today! We serve Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Ormond Beach, Palm Coast, DeLand, and many other service areas in Florida. You may reach us at 386-673-9720 to get a free quote. You may also request to schedule an appointment for consultation and inspection!