# Solar pool heat



## jimiansville

Hi folks, looking for some advice on solar heat for our pool. 

We have just purchased a villa in Benidoleig near Denia and would like to have the pool heated. We own a villa in Florida with an electric pool heater but it's very expensive to run. We also had a villa in Florida with a gas fired heater and it was just as expensive. As the villa in Spain will be our permanent home having an electric pool heater is not a viable option due to energy costs. That brings us to solar power as an alternative. We don't want or need to have the pool boiling hot but just want to take the edge off it and raise the temperature a little it to make it more pleasant to use.

Has anyone gone down the solar route for pool heat and can they point me in the direction of a supplier in the norther Cosat Blanca?

Thanks for your help.


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## windwalker

I have solar heat on my pool in Arizona. There are eight large black coils that lie on the ground. I can use the pool about 8 months of the year. Right now it's way too cold. Temps here get down to freezing and below in at least December and January. It's really nice in the spring and fall, when people with unheated pools can't use them. I also have a cover for the pool and I believe that's essential to retain heat.


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## casa99

jimiansville said:


> Hi folks, looking for some advice on solar heat for our pool.
> 
> We have just purchased a villa in Benidoleig near Denia and would like to have the pool heated. We own a villa in Florida with an electric pool heater but it's very expensive to run. We also had a villa in Florida with a gas fired heater and it was just as expensive. As the villa in Spain will be our permanent home having an electric pool heater is not a viable option due to energy costs. That brings us to solar power as an alternative. We don't want or need to have the pool boiling hot but just want to take the edge off it and raise the temperature a little it to make it more pleasant to use.
> 
> Has anyone gone down the solar route for pool heat and can they point me in the direction of a supplier in the norther Cosat Blanca?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


You can get a solar cover for your pool, it looks like bubble wrap and is usualy coloured blue on the top side, if your pool is in a good position to get the sun from early in the day you should get a fair bit of warmth from the cover , it will also keep some of the heat in the pool if you leave the cover on overnight. I get about + 4 deg per hour to a depth of about 1 foot and once you have bought the cover the heat from the sun is free!!.:clap2::clap2:


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## Stravinsky

OK, I looked into this when I first came here.

Firstly, you will only end up raising the temperature by a few degrees, and trust me around here that wont be much use to you. We use our pool without heating between about April/May through to early October. The temperatures drop then, and a couple of degrees wont help you

Secondly, to get that couple of degree increase you need a bank of solar panels.

Just not worth it going on the figures everyone quoted at the time.

I have been investigating the solar covers that rest on the pool. The of course heat during the day and stop you losing heat so much at night. Might be a more cost effective way, but trouble is we get quite heavy winds up here so I might end up with the pool cover flying its way to Gandia!!!


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## Guest

jimiansville said:


> Hi folks, looking for some advice on solar heat for our pool.
> 
> We have just purchased a villa in Benidoleig near Denia and would like to have the pool heated. We own a villa in Florida with an electric pool heater but it's very expensive to run. We also had a villa in Florida with a gas fired heater and it was just as expensive. As the villa in Spain will be our permanent home having an electric pool heater is not a viable option due to energy costs. That brings us to solar power as an alternative. We don't want or need to have the pool boiling hot but just want to take the edge off it and raise the temperature a little it to make it more pleasant to use.
> 
> Has anyone gone down the solar route for pool heat and can they point me in the direction of a supplier in the norther Cosat Blanca?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


Yes, I have solar panels to heat our jacuzzi on the terrace. It was my wife's idea. Thinking about it at the time, 9 years ago it seemed a great idea, but we've had so many problems with it. It originally cost 2000€, but I've spent about 4000€ over the years getting it fixed. Last year we had a new thermostat fitted. Normally on solar panels you need two thermostats which have to work together. One for the pool and one for the panels. We had real problems with thermostats, so last May we had a new thermostat fitted. This one does both and everything is automatic, unlike the previous thermostats that worked on a timer. The new thermostat cost 740€. All last year it was fantastic, but in the last two weeks, it has stopped working. I phoned the fitter, but as yet he hasn't phoned back.
Given the choice all over again, I would have looked for a different system. It may be we are just unfortunate, but as I know of no one else has the same system, I have no way of knowing. On top of all those problems, we have needed a new pump for the water and a new pump for the solar panels. Then we've had water leaks as well. All in all, It has been a waste of money. 
I'm not saying it's a bad system, I'm just relaying the problems I've had over the years. All of our friends who have heated pools only use them during the late spring and early autumn as the water is still too cold. 
Whatever you do, look closely into it.
Best wishes to you all.


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## jimiansville

Thanks for all your advice. 

We have a solar blanket on our pool in Florida which we use in conjunction with the heater. To be honest all it does is help stop the temperature dropping but in our experience doesn't actually increase the temperature. We use the electric heater to actually heat the pool but it is very expensive to run.

We will certainly be using a solar blanket but based on our experience with our pool in Florida over the past 11 years, we don't expect it to actually raise the temperature. It will just help stop it cooling down too much when temperatures drop overnight. We used solar pills when our solar blanket needed replacing but they didn't work for us. When we monitored the temperature we found it dropped considerably when compared to the solar blanket.

We have a large 4,500 M2 plot so we have plenty of room for solar panels to be placed facing the sun but out of sight of the villa. All we want to do is increase the pool temperature by around 5 degrees to make it more comfortable and extend the season a little. Just looking at the options for achieving this.


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## snikpoh

OK - 


we use a solar cover for the summer months - it's like bubble wrap. It increases the pool temp by up to 7 degrees, stops evaporation, stops heat loss at night and reduces use of chemicals.
we have a full cover for the winter - this keeps the pool 'fairly' clean ready for the new season
we have hot water panels on the roof of our outside kitchen. These heat the pool water which is then pumped around the system (via the filter etc.) using a secondary pump. Again this increases pool temp but, more importantly, increases the time that we can use the pool. It's now April - November (ish).

The only additional cost is mainly in the installation and then a small amount of extra electricity for the secondary pump.


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## siobhanwf

I have used a pool cover for so many years now I would not be without one. Ours had to be replaced this summer (last one lasted 4 years!! After checking the prices here in Portugal we ended up having one shipped put from Uk Solar Pool Covers | Solar Covers | Swimming Pool Solar Covers. 
A friend brought our in his car so no delivery costs.... But I had a really good quote lined up if I had to use someone else!


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## jimiansville

Thanks again for your comments.

snikpoh, this is exactly the sort of system I had in mind. The use of a solar blanket is a given. As I say, we have used one in our villa in florida for years and wouldn't be without it. The main thing I'm interested in is the hot water panels. Can I ask how many you have and can you give me a rough idea of the installation costs? Did you use a local contractor or a national company? Also, what sort of temperature are you able to achieve in the pool in the summer and early and late season? 

As an alternative to using a panel to supply hot water directly to the pool, is it possible to have panels that use solar power to produce electricity to run a pool heater? My only experience of solar panels is the one we have that produces hot water for domestic use so looking at all the options.


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## Stravinsky

snikpoh said:


> OK -
> 
> 
> we use a solar cover for the summer months - it's like bubble wrap. It increases the pool temp by up to 7 degrees, stops evaporation, stops heat loss at night and reduces use of chemicals.
> we have a full cover for the winter - this keeps the pool 'fairly' clean ready for the new season
> we have hot water panels on the roof of our outside kitchen. These heat the pool water which is then pumped around the system (via the filter etc.) using a secondary pump. Again this increases pool temp but, more importantly, increases the time that we can use the pool. It's now April - November (ish).
> 
> The only additional cost is mainly in the installation and then a small amount of extra electricity for the secondary pump.


Thats the point I was making though .... I havent got any heating at all, and I use it from April/May through to October. So your heating system gives you at best an extra month .... do you think it is worth it?


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## jimiansville

For me it's all about "comfort" levels. We are used to our pool in Florida heated to 87 - 90 degrees when we use it. The pools here in Spain appear to hover around the 83 degree mark. I just find the extra heat makes it a joy to use and if you can get a couple of extra months of use at a "comfortable" temperature then that's an extra bonus.


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## siobhanwf

jimiansville said:


> For me it's all about "comfort" levels. We are used to our pool in Florida heated to 87 - 90 degrees when we use it. The pools here in Spain appear to hover around the 83 degree mark. I just find the extra heat makes it a joy to use and if you can get a couple of extra months of use at a "comfortable" temperature then that's an extra bonus.



We decided to opt for a full cover like a greenhouse with retractable panels. Saves a fortune on cleaning. Saves on water evaporation which was a pain in our house in Florida. Cuts down on the use of chemicals too. But comes at a price. Combined with the solar pool cover we have temperatures of 29c and above from mid march to early November. Pool at present is 20c far too cold for me!!


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## snikpoh

Stravinsky said:


> Thats the point I was making though .... I havent got any heating at all, and I use it from April/May through to October. So your heating system gives you at best an extra month .... do you think it is worth it?


I think it all depends how hot/cold you can tolerate. Our children go in when it gets to over 20 but I wait 'till it's nearer 25+!

In the summer, the pool gets to well over 30 which is when I turn the panels off.

For my 8mx5m pool, I have 7 panels each about 2mx1m - this is not quite enough but was all we could manage on the roof of the 'pool house'. I seem to recall that the cost of all parts plus labour was about 1700euros.


I think it was worth the expense given that we have extended our season by about 1month each end and the pool is a lot hotter sooner.


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## Earnie

I work with my Dad as a pool cleaner and I can tell you that on the whole most solar powered heaters are rubbish especially the ones where they heat rubber black piping as they dont last very long either. The only solution if you want long term pool heating is using a good electric one and make sure its a big one as well, yes they are not cheap to run but once up to the right temperature they are cheaper to run than small ones.


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## Dominic S. Montgomery

Earnie said:


> I work with my Dad as a pool cleaner and I can tell you that on the whole most solar powered heaters are rubbish especially the ones where they heat rubber black piping as they dont last very long either. The only solution if you want long term pool heating is using a good electric one and make sure its a big one as well, yes they are not cheap to run but once up to the right temperature they are cheaper to run than small ones.


Thanks for sharing about the solar pool heater because I am planing to buy one for my above ground pool. Now can you please suggest any good electric heater for my 10x19 oval pool.


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## gus-lopez

snikpoh said:


> Our children go in when it gets to over 20 but I wait 'till it's nearer 25+!
> 
> .


25+ ?? I've just taken my body warmer off then !!


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## josephrussel

jimiansville said:


> Hi folks, looking for some advice on solar heat for our pool.
> 
> We have just purchased a villa in Benidoleig near Denia and would like to have the pool heated. We own a villa in Florida with an electric pool heater but it's very expensive to run. We also had a villa in Florida with a gas fired heater and it was just as expensive. As the villa in Spain will be our permanent home having an electric pool heater is not a viable option due to energy costs. That brings us to solar power as an alternative. We don't want or need to have the pool boiling hot but just want to take the edge off it and raise the temperature a little it to make it more pleasant to use.
> 
> Has anyone gone down the solar route for pool heat and can they point me in the direction of a supplier in the norther Cosat Blanca?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


I can understand your concern as the location where you live needs pool heating at priority base. I would like to suggest you that please have look on your heat pump configuration and if needed try to reconfigure it with the help of experts.
Secondly please prefer the pool cover which will enhance heating level.


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## Aron

I have solar panels for our large outdoor jacuzzi. We wanted to be able to use it through the winter when we first came out here. However, we can't use it at all in winter. The best we can get is a few weeks more either side of the mormal summer period for using a pool. We have tried so many things, but after 9 years we now have settled for what we can get out of it. Our main problem may be the vicinity of the pool to the solar panels. We used the only place possible. If the solar panels we next to our jacuzzi, it may be better, but I doubt it. It was an expensive outlay that didn't work for us.

I do use a pool cover too.


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## Jestomi

Hi,
Re the pool heating.
We also are looking at the same for a place we have just purchased in the Benigembla near Orba in the Jalon Vally. We are looking at solar pool heating and we have found this company 

Solar pool heating

We also have a place in Florida which has solar heating but not electric it is just piped from solar blankets on the roof a similar system to the company i have given the URL for.
We found electric was going to be very expensive to run ,the system we have there is free once installed and it looks a simple install
Let me know how things go.
Thanks


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## siobhanwf

Thanks for your quick response. Like you I had a home in Florida oil ride and had solar there.
Which of the two systems did you go for? What is the size of your
pool?


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## Fayewhitehart

Hi. Did you ever make a decision re your pool. I have the same questions. Can you advise who you used etc
Thanks 
Faye


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## MANXMONKEY

I've just caught this thread as I'm looking at heating my own pool in Spain - out of interest I also lived in Florida and one thing about solar is if you position them too far away you lose a lot in the transmission! So what did you end up doing in Spain? I'm about 95% decided to have a heat Pump but not 100% yet!


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## jimiansville

In the end we went down the heat pump option. We spoke to lots of people and the consensus was that solar would provide just a small increase in temperature with relatively high installation costs. The heat pump is great and does the job in a consistent reliable way. We are now looking into the possibility of using solar to generate enough electricity to run the heat pump. Not sure if it will be possible but worth exploring.


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## pnwheels

Possible, but expensive! You would need panels, a charge controller and an inverter, oh and batteries!


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