For a belt-tightening economy, utilizing the solar roof panels to heat your inground pool is an ideal way to go. Using a solar energy-driven heater to keep your swimming pool toasty means that you do not need to stop swimming in your pool when the temperatures drop. And in so doing, you get more use out of your pool without facing higher utility bills. No matter the climate, you can use a solar energy pool heater to keep a consistent temperature, regardless of the size of your pool. Another plus is that adding a solar energy pool heater to your home increases the market value of your home.
You can take one of two routes for adding a solar energy pool heater. Either way depends upon two factors: your involvement in putting it together, and your budget. By getting a ready-to-install system, installation is less hands on, and will run you around two to four grand. If you want to pay less and do not mind getting your hands a little dirty, then you can put your own system together for under two hundred.
You do not have to worry about fiddling around with the filtering system that is already attached to your pool. Solar energy pool heater kits are designed to hook right to it. While your filter is doing its duty day in and day out, the water is running through the solar collectors, and sent back to the pool all nice and heated for your enjoyment.
You will be setting up your collectors on your roof nearby, so that it can get the most out of the sunlight shining directly into your property. You want the collectors to be aimed toward the sun by midday, and follow the line of latitude located at your home. This line will vary upward of fifteen degrees during winter months, and down by fifteen degrees for the summer. The size of your collector array will be equivalent to about half the size of your pool. However, if you have to configure your panels flat or if you can not find a direct southerly line of site, then you are probably going to need to size your array closer to two-thirds the size of your pool. And if your landscape is full of trees and shrubs to where it is shady most of the day, then you may even need to set your array to an equal size to your pool. If this is the case, due to size, you might need to set your panels up on a ground mount or a fence mount.
So, if heating an inground pool with solar roof panels is in your future, then take these things into account: typical weather conditions in your area that might affect the amount of sun your collectors get, any building codes or safety issues, how big your pool is, how long your "swimming season" lasts, how hot you want to maintain your pool, and how efficient your chosen panels are when collecting and storing solar energy.
Bottom line, with so much to consider with your solar energy pool heater, you really need to call in a professional with experience in these things. With so much at stake, a professional will make sure you do not travel down any unnecessary or erroneous pathways on your journey to a heated inground pool using solar energy.
