Air Conditioners Review

Solar energy is an brilliant way to heat your swimming pool for next-to-nothing. A solar water heating system allows you to extend your swimming season and to top up the pool heat over night without worrying about high utility bills. Swimming pool solar heating systems are well able to sustain the warmth of a large volume of water on a daily basis, and are quite capable of keeping the pool temperature at 80 to 85 degrees even in moderate climates.

Fitting a solar pool heater is also a excellent way of adding value to your property.

If you choose to buy and install a ready-made solar water heating system you could pay from $2,000 to $4,000 depending on the size of the collectors and the installation charges. But, it is quite possible to make your own solar water heater for an average-sized pool for under $200, including materials and an extra recirculating pump.

Solar pool heaters are connected directly to your existing pool filter system. During the day while the filter is operating, the water is circulated through the solar collectors and back to the pool. It is possible to have a system without any moving parts, such as a recirculating pump, but this will depend on the average sunshine levels in your area.

The solar heating panels need to be positioned to absorb the maximum amount of available sun, typically on a suitable roof. Ideally the collectors should face the mid-day sun and be at an angle equivalent to your latitude minus 10 to 15 degrees. The area of the collectors will depend on a number of factors, but 50% of your pool area is a excellent starting point. Increase this to 75% if the collectors are laid flat or facing west. In some cases, where there are significant shade or strong prevailing winds, the collector area can be as much as 100% of pool size. Because solar collectors tend to take up a lot of space, it is often better to fix them to a ground frame or even a suitable fence.

Factors affecting the installation of a solar pool heating system can include:

• Climate and sunlight availability.
• Building codes and safety regulations.
• Pool size.
• Length of the swimming season.
• Required pool temperature.
• Solar collector efficiency.

These considerations really need the input of an experienced designer for your swimming pool solar heating system, because only a suitably-qualified person will have the necessary expertise to give you the right plans for making your swimming pool solar heating system work properly for you.

You can build your own swimming pool solar heating system without any special skills or tools, and you will find it very simple to do. You will find all needed materials in your local hardware shop. But, as always, there are experts that will make your job simpler and safer, and the project plotting stage much more complete. We thoroughly recommend one group of professionals who have produced a simple set of plans and a comprehensive set of clearly illustrated instructions to guide you every step of the way in making your solar swimming pool heater. For under $200, which includes all plans, instructions, materials and expert guidance, you can build a superb solar water heater system for your pool – that is an inspiring thought!