Solar pool heating is remarkably adaptable. Its low operating temperatures and summer use free it somewhat from the stringent requirements of collector orientation and tilt. The relatively high summer sun—from October through April—is readily available, and a fairly low efficiency of solar collection is enough to provide all the heat a pool needs. (Of course, if you have other uses in mind for the collectors, such as heating a hot tub, household water, or even the house air itself, you need just as rigorous a design and as efficient a system as for any other kind of solar heating.)
As a result of this design flexibility, there are successful solar pool-heating systems in which the collectors crop up in all kinds of unusual situations: fences, pool- house roofs, banks and hillsides, and garage roofs. Some even face directions other than directly north. (Beware, however, of sloppy design: just because there’s room for more variation in solar pool heating design doesn’t mean that the designer can afford to ignore the basic tenets of solar design in general.)
In addition to its suitability for retrofitting, solar pool heating has the advantage of economy: homeowners turn to it because it conserves resources or, as in one case in which the house and pool crown an open hilltop, because the sun is plentiful. Most often, homeowners turn to it because gas or electric pool heaters cost so much to run that they threaten to become unaffordable (or even outlawed in some states). A solar pool heating system, on the other hand, grows cheaper as it pays for itself.
HDPE panels on flat pool house roof are mounted on freestanding framework to get necessary angle and orientation for solar exposure. Pool is solar-heated from October to March, then a heatpump auxiliary comes on. System can be controlled thermostatically or manually.
Solar panels were installed on garage roof 1 year after pool was built, to coincide with roof remodel. Forward-looking homeowner/installers put in pipes for solar heating when they added pool, so as to conceal piping, make later solar installation easier. Five collectors provide heat from September to April, then heatpump heater supplements system through the colder periods. One more panel may be necessary to prolong swimming period and overcome shading problems caused by nearby pine trees.
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Solar Pool Heating: Flexible and Economical
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