You Swimming Pool Solar Heater Answare And Reviews

Question: Please read this if you are in ny and have a swimming pool solar heater that was installed by a l.i. company.?

(Posted by: sandy on 2008-04-12 05:50:04)

We have a 15X30 above ground pool and would like some info from people who already have a solar heater. How many degrees does the temp of your pool water go up from May- September? Our pool is in the sun most of the day. Unfortunately our neighbor's tree blocks the sun from part of our pool right in the middle of the day. We're considering a solar heater and don't know if it would do much to help since our entire roof doesn't get sun all day (1 half gets sun part of the day, the other half the other part of the day; same with our yard). There are only a couple of dealers on L.I. that install pool solar heaters. The 1 we got an estimate from didn't do anything to survey our yard to see if it is suitable for the solar heater. I'd rather have a solar heater but I'm also strongly leaning toward a heat pump since I haven't been convinced that the temperature of our pool water will rise more than 4 degrees above what it was last summer (didn't get above 80 the whole summer. Thank you for your response. Many people in NY with above ground pools who use heat pumps and gas heaters also use solar covers when their pool is not in use to keep the heat in. I really just want to know who has a solar heater and how many degrees the pool water increases.

Posted by: Chris on 2008-04-12, 17:07:03

Quite honestly Solar heaters are a bad idea. Solar heaters are only as good as the sun around them. In other words, if your roof does not sit in the sun the entire day, or at least during the 8 hours when you would have your swimming pool on, don't even waste your money. Also.... If you have a stretch of 3-4 days when we get rain showers, you are not gaining any heat from the solar panels as there is no sun to heat up the black panels, so over the course of the 3-4 day span, it might take you 3-4 days just to get back to where you were. At least with a Heat pump, or a gas fired heater, you can still run your heater regardless of the weather conditions and keep your pool at the temperature you want. Also. Like everything else... Solar heaters will continue to heat as long as you run the water through them, with a heat pump you can physically set the temperature you want, or a gas heater you can set it for the desired temperature level. If you go away for a few days, and forget to shut off the water to the solar panels, you could come back to water that you may find to be unsuitable for your likes. But as you said... you don't get direct sunlight on your roof all day, i wouldnt even WASTE any money on a product that is not going to give you the results that you want. the other thing with solar heaters like this, if your house if 40 feet from the pool. you are going to need 100 feet of additional plumbing work to be installed. to get the water to and from your roof, and on the return trip to the pool, since your plumbing will be inground, the water will lose some of the heat that it generates from the panels through the plumbing having to travel 40 feet just back to your pool. At least with a heater next to your equipment, your water is only traveling a few feet or a substantially less distance to your pool therefore reducing any loss due to the travel back to your pool.

Posted by: pondlady on 2008-04-12, 06:01:41

I live in New Orleans with an above ground pool. I spoke with many solar installers and they strongly recommend against using solar for above ground pools. In fact they recommend against trying to heat an above ground pool at all. The heat rise can be no more than 11º at any time and it will not stay warm because there is no insulation around the pool. I suspect you will have less success in NY than I could expect in New Orleans.