Solar Pool Heating - Double Your Swim Season - How it Works

Solar Pool Heating - Double Your Swim Season

By Francie Finn

Suntrek Solar

francie@suntreksolar.com

‪(415) 289-9166‬

Have you filled up your car recently?  Ouch!  Here in Northern California, you are nearing $6 a gallon.  Think it’s expensive to fill your tank, now consider the cost to fill your swimming pool.  Follow me.  If you want to swim 8 months a year and do not want to suffer from frostbite, you need to heat your pool.  The most common method to heat a pool is with a gas heater.  Well, that takes…you guessed it, gas!  Yes, what you are paying at the pump is what you are paying at home.  Stop the madness and heat your pool with solar panels.  After the initial investment with paybacks less than 2 to 3 years, your pool is heated complimentary by the sun.  It is bar none, the most efficient way to heat your pool.  

How Solar Pool Heating Works 

A solar pool heater uses heat from the sun to warm your pool water…sensors detect when the temperature of the roof is warmer than the pool water which triggers a flow control valve to divert water up to the roof and through solar collectors to be heated by the sun then the pool water flows back to the pool.  Once your pool reaches your ideal temperature, say 81 degrees, the flow control closes, and you

enjoy a nice warm pool.  

Pool Solar Components: 

Solar collectors - These are black “licorice” panels placed on the roof where the pool water is circulated to be heated by the sun.  A tube is at each end of the panel, and the water flows through one tube, across the panel, and out the end of the other tube. 

Works with your existing pool equipment: 

Pool pump - circulates water through the filter and collector and back to the pool

Pool filter - removes debris before water is pumped through the collector

Flow control valve - an automatic or manual device diverts your pool water through the solar collector

Pool water is pumped through the filter and then through the solar collector(s), where it is heated before it is returned to the pool. During peak summer months the collectors can cool your pool down by circulating the water at night.

Costs of a Solar Pool System

A solar pool heating system is priced by the sqft of your pool surface, costing an average of $15 per sqft plus costs for integration and automation (a 300 sq ft pool would cost on average $4,500 plus another $1,400 for automation and integration).  This provides a payback of 2-3 years based on heating your pool with gas in PG&E territory.  Your actual cost and payback depend on many factors. 

Sizing a Solar Swimming Pool Heater

If your home’s roof has either a good west or south exposure, and you would like to heat your pool to 81 degrees 8 months out of the year, then take the sqft of your pool and multiply it by .80 (90 to 100 percent for north and east-facing roof surfaces).

Collector sizing is usually 4x8, 4x10, and 4x12.  

For example, if you have a 15-by-30 outdoor swimming pool (15x30=450 sq ft) with a south-facing roof, then see the calculation below:

450 sqft x .80 = 360 you would need 9 - 4 x 10 panels (40 sq ft)