One of the biggest costs of owning your own pool is the monthly energy bill. Heating the water in your pool can get very expensive, but a DIY solar pool heater can eliminate that expense altogether! Doesn’t that sound attractive. Honestly, it doesn’t take a ton of know-how to install it either. A DIY pool heater will keep the water at the temperature you want without adding any additional cost to your monthly energy bill. Additionally when you build your own swimming pool heater, the cost is minimal. We’ll get to that shortly!
Solar heating for your home and pool is an amazing luxury add-on to any home renovation. There are many positive aspects to installing solar heating for your pool. For one: you can significantly reduce swimming pool heating costs by installing a solar pool heater or panels. Even if you don’t do-it-yourself, they’re cost competitive with both gas and heat pump pool heaters, and they have very low annual operating costs. Actually, solar pool heating is the most cost-effective use of solar energy in many climates. Even more good news: after installation, properly maintaining your system will keep it running smoothly for 10–20 years! If you have chosen to DIY your own solar heating system, according to this blog it can cost you as little as $$821! The $821 example is a solar pool heater is using two 4’ x 20′ solar panels, or 160 sq. ft. of solar surface area and is a good size for pools up to 12,000 gallons.
A Solar Heating System Consists of:
- A solar collector: A device through which pool water is circulated to be heated by the sun.
- A filter: A filter removes debris before water is pumped through the collector.
- A pump: The pump circulates water through the filter and collector and back to the pool.
- A flow control valve: An automatic or manual device that diverts pool water through the solar collector.
A Word of Warning
Before you buy and install a solar pool heating system, you first need to consider your site’s solar resource. The efficiency and design of a solar pool heater depends on how much of the sun’s energy reaches your building site. However, if your building site has unshaded areas and generally faces south, it’s a good candidate for a solar pool heating system. Installation will involve unrolling the chosen solar panels and securing them to a flat surface. You will face them southerly ensuring that the area gets 4-8 hrs of uninterrupted daily sun.
If actual solar panels are either out of the budget, or too complicated, try these genius solar heating projects.
Just How Much Heat Are We Talkin’?
A solar heating systems can add 15° F (or more) to your pool. This, of course, depends mainly on sun exposure and solar panel size, and/or square footage.
Is this DIY Project For You?
It’s totally up to you! If you are feeling adventurous and want to create your own solar heating system it can be very rewarding. If you’d like to leave it up to the experts, Premier Pools & Spas can help you with that, just ask!
Find a top quality pool construction expert in your local area now! So, what are you waiting for?
