There are a few ways to heat your pool ranging from a pool heat pump, to naturally heating the pool with solar energy or a solar cover. Although heating up a pool with a heater pump is common, it is very expensive. In fact, comparing an electrical bill of a pool that is heated with a pump versus one that uses natural heat from the sun, is literally day and night. The expense factor roots from the fact that a smaller heater has to run consistently to heat thousands of gallons of water, which as you could imagine adds up.
Solar Blanket
The more cost effective way of cleaning your pool includes using a solar cover. Solar covers are not only affordable in cost; but they are designed to be used from 8-15 years before needing to be replaced. Although using a solar cover to heat your water takes longer to heat your pool, usually a few days longer, there is no added expense in doing so. The bottom line is, patience is much more affordable.
Using a Solar Blanket
When your solar blanket arrives, it will need to sit out over the pool for 1-2 days in order for it to correctly stretch. This will take all of the fold creases out of the cover and you’ll be ready to cut. Cut the cover so that the cover fits snug against the pool sides using a sharp pair of scissors or razor blade. If you don’t cut enough at first, use your razor blade to carefully trim the excess. Over time, you’ll notice the cover will get dirty or collect a build-up of calcium, debris, etc. The proper way to keep your solar cover in tip-top shape is to temporarily clean it off by rolling it out on your driveway or other flat area and washing it down with a hose. It is also recommended not to keep your solar cover outside during the winter as the cold weather will contribute to it loosing its strength and eventually cracking or breaking.
When using any type of chemical treatment, be sure to keep the cover off of the pool. Especially when applying large amounts of chlorine to the water, known as super-shocking, it is recommended to keep the cover off. Chlorine will have the tendency to cause build up on the surface and will need to be cleaned more often.
Using a Solar Heating System
A solar heating system is a completely separate form of pool heating compared with a normal pool pump. Although, many times people will use the two in conjunction. When used together, you can take the conventional heating costs down easily by 60%-70%. Solar heating systems feed heat from a solar panel located in your yard, usually on your roof down through a control valve that helps dissipate the heat towards the pool and heater pump. Installing a solar heater system will take about 8 hours to install on average, which is definitely worth the time.
