How Do Solar Pool Covers Work
It may be surprising for you to imagine that a polymer sheet will be able to retain heat. But covers can retain heat by preventing water evaporation and preventing direct contact between the wind and pool water.
Water evaporation is one of the significant factors as to why the swimming pool water cools down. Because as the water temperature rises, the pool water also releases energy by evaporation to the cold air. Youve probably noticed this when your swimming pool forms steam or water vapor above the pool surface.
Also, If you have no cover for your pool, the wind that blows across it will cool down the water at a faster rate. So if you live in a place where the winds are strong, then aside from a cover, it is best to install a windbreaker.
Another reason why solar pool covers retain heat effectively is that it acts as a layer between the water and the air around it. In heat exchange, having an extra layer between two bodies slows down the rate of heat transfer. You can compare this to a blanket that warms you up during a cold night. This is the reason why pool covers are also called solar blankets.
What Is The Best Solar Cover Reel For Inground Pool
I’m sorry if I’ve confused you. My sympathies go out to you! Even yet, it is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. If youâre still unsure which type of best solar cover reel for inground pool is best for you, I recommend comparing the characteristics and functionalities of the best solar cover reel for inground pool listed above. Each has advantages and disadvantages.
Will The Auto Pool Reel Or An Automatic Pool Roller Save Me Money
Yes, by using the Auto Pool Reel or an Automatic Pool Roller with a pool blanket at night when it is typically cooler or when not in use will eliminate chlorine dissipation, water evaporation and heatloss. The cost of the Automatic Pool Cover and pool blanket is a small investment that pays dividends years to come. See Energy Use for energy savings.
Also Check: What Is The Best Pool Safety Alarm
Solar Pool Covers 19 Things To Know Before You Buy
Are you thinking of buying a solar cover for your pool? Solar pool covers, also known as solar pool blankets, involve quite a large investment so it is important to ensure that the expenditure will be worth it for you.
Generally having a solar pool cover will save money in the long run, particularly if you heat your pool using electricity or gas. They will also extend your swimming season if you do not heat the pool and reduce the amount of money you spend on chemicals.
To help you decide whether to buy a solar pool cover for your in-ground or above-ground pool I try to answer all of the questions you may have so you can make an informed decision.
The Best Solar Pool Cover Reel For An Above Ground Pool
To tell the truth, its been very hard to find a decent above ground solar cover reel. Ive personally tested several throughout my years in the pool industry and I havent found one I could confidently recommend.
Ill continue to keep my eye out. But I suggest that if you have an above ground pool, stick with taking the cover on and off yourself. Itll be much easier than installing a solar cover reel every season.
If you have a fairly large above ground pool, I recommend cutting the cover into more manageable pieces so its easier to remove. Dont worry, the cover will still work when its cut.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Deepest Above Ground Swimming Pool
What Are The Advantages Of Using A Solar Pool Cover
- An estimated 75% of a pools heat loss is as a result of evaporation. A solar pool cover keeps the heat in, extending the period during which you can use your pool.
- Because you do not need to heat your pool as frequently as before, you can save up to 70% of your normal pool heating costs.
- These covers are easily trimmed to fit any shape of pool.
- Solar covers are value for money as they are relatively cheap while saving you on heating costs in the long run.
- Although these covers may slowly deteriorate over time, they do last for quite a long period, making them well worth the effort due to your savings on water, power, and chemicals.
Choose The Elite Solar Pool Blanket For Superior Performance
Ten years ago, the team at Elite Pool Covers set out to improve on all aspects of the run of the mill round bubble blankets and succeeded by developing the Elite Super Bubble Blanket that is proven to out-perform all solar types of round bubble blankets on the world market.
There are a number of run of the mill round bubble type blankets on the market. These tend to keep the heat in your pool the same, as they all have similar small bubble size, same average insulating qualities, same lifespan and similar thicknesses.
The Elite Super Bubble Solar Blanket is truly superior and is proven to outperform all other round bubble blankets according to independent scale tank tests and comparative guarded hot plate tests to Australian Standard AS4859-1.
You May Like: How Does Buying Solar Panels Work
Also Check: Hotels In Louisville Ky With Indoor Pools
How To Choose The Most Popular Best Solar Cover Reel For Inground Pool
There are three most important factors to keep in mind while deciding on a product: pricing, quality, and popularity.One obvious consideration is price. You must make sure that the price matches your budget.To get the greatest product, you need to pay attention to the quality of the things you are purchasing.When it comes to acquiring new clients, popularity is just as important as pricing or quality, if not more so.
Sun2solar 1200 Series Solar Pool Cover
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
The Sun2Solar 1200 Series Solar Pool Cover is ideal for both in-ground and above-ground swimming pools. It’s oval-shaped, however, you can cut it to suit your pool accordingly and this won’t affect your warranty.
The small air pockets on the underside of the blanket capture and send solar heat back into the water of your pool, keeping it warm even on cloudy days. You can choose a blue or clear blanket, however, we’d recommend the clear version as sunlight can travel directly into the water.
It is, however, one of the most expensive solar pool covers that weâve reviewed so there are cheaper alternatives available. In terms of user ratings, this Sun2Solar pool cover scores an average of 4.5 stars out of five on Amazon. Users that rate the solar pool cover highly comment on how they find it to be âstrong enough that it wonât tearâ. Others also found it to be durable and thick. Some users reported the bubbles began to come away after a couple of years of use.
Also Check: What To Do For Cloudy Pool Water
What To Look For In A Solar Pool Cover
The bare minimum your solar pool cover should do is keep your poolâs temperature from severely dropping by retaining the sunâs heat. Thickness and insulation are also essential so that there is less water evaporation occurring inside the pool. You also want a cover thatâs going to keep the direct sunlight from draining the chemicals that are working to clean your pool, as youâll have to top those up more if not, and run the risk of algae growing in their absence.
Safety should be another crucial concern when looking for a pool cover. Options that are easy to put on correctly will save you from accidentally leaving your pool unprotected, and importantly keep your pets and loved ones safe. Make sure that if your child or an animal were to step on top of your cover accidentally that it would be able to support their weight.
Thickness is the last factor to think about on your buying journey. Whilst a thicker cover will do a better job at retaining heat, these do tend to be more expensive, and more of a task to take on and off.
Intex Solar Cover For 12ft Diameter Easy Set And Frame Pools
If you have an Intex pool, its continually quality to get Intex accessories. This best Intex solar pool cover suits 12ft Easy Set and steel body Intex pools. The best solar pool cover is a terrific preference for any Intex handy set and steel body pool proprietor searching for a lower-priced and handy way to maintain the pool warm.
This best solar pool cover is a low-cost way to heat your Intex Easy Set or metallic body swimming pool. Its inexpensive to buy, and it doesnt value whatever to run. On a sunny day, the Intex cover warms the water with the aid of the usage of about 5 degrees. Leave it on for numerous days, and the temperature techniques one hundred. It additionally prevents warmness loss at night, reduces evaporation, and maintains particles out of the pool.
- Reduces warmth loss and 95% of evaporation
- Holes enable water to drain from the cover
- Warms the pool on sunny days
- Come with a storage bag
Dont Miss: How Many Homes Use Solar Power
Read Also: Above Ground Pool Closing Kit
Mesh Pool Safety Covers
There are 3 types of covers that are considered safety covers mesh, solid and hybrid. A safety cover adds a layer of safety by preventing anyone or anything getting into your pool during the off-season. In addition, its designed to keep your pool water clean, protect pool hardware, prevent algae growth and set your pool up for easy pool opening in the spring. An inground pool cover ensures the safety of your pool by fastening to your pool deck typically with stainless steel hardware that resists damage from the elements.
Mesh Inground Pool Safety Cover
The Happybuy Pool Safety Cover is prefabricated to fit a variety of inground pool sizes. The soft yet tough material is durable, resistant to high temperatures and will prevent everything from leaves to rain and snow from ending up in your pool. The size of the cover should exceed the size of the pool to allow for fastening to the pool deck. These covers come with installation hardware and tools to allow for drilling into just about any type of pool deck. The tight mesh membrane will prevent water evaporation, protect pool equipment and keep children and pets out.
Mesh Inground Pool Cover Installation
The Best Solar Cover Reels For Inground Pools In 2022
If you use a solar pool cover, youre ahead of the game, getting lots of benefits from warmer water to lower energy bills. But deploying and removing it is a headache. Or is it? Not with a solar cover reel, its not.
And after a ton of research, we found the VINGLI Pool Reel to be the best bang for your buck. Its affordable, durable, and works for many types of inground pools.
A great value when compared to other solar cover reels on the marketing. It features a grooved 3-section aluminum pipe design to avoid strap fall off. It’s solid, the legs are stainless, the reel is aluminum and the wheels are made of large full solid tires.
For our upgrade option, we chose the Auto Pool Reel System. Its a jump in price, but its the only solar cover reel thatll uncover and COVER your pool with the click of a button!
Disclosure: We take pride in finding the best solar cover reels. We source reviews from popular retails and test these products when we can. Our posts may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you purchase through our links . It helps us keep the lights on
You May Like: How Much Chlorine To Put In Pool
What Makes The Elite Solar Pool Blanket Different
The Elite Super Bubble Ultra Heat Deep Colour Blankets are proven to heat better than standard pool blankets thorough smart design, including:
- Larger bubble sizes, making it the best insulating round bubble blanket available
- Thickness of 550 micron
- Darker colours that heat better than lighter colours, giving you a warmer pool and a longer swimming season
Elite Super Bubble Solar Blankets are salt-safe and chlorine safe and will out-last other round bubble blankets due to their thickness and bubble design.
What Is The Best Solar Pool Cover
There are three types of solar covers: blankets, rings, and liquid. Here are our top picks for all three.
NOTE: These solar pool covers are available to buy on either Amazon and InTheSwim.com. Check both sites for availability. All the links are affiliate links which means if you click a link and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no additional cost to you. It helps us keep the lights on
For a classic solar cover thatll not only heat your pool but will also help reduce water and chemical evaporation at night, we like this lightweight clear solar cover. Perfect for both inground and above ground swimming pools.
Also Check: How To Get Water Off Pool Cover
Solar Pool Covers: Rectangular Oval Custom Sizes
A Thermal Pool Cover is recommended for all pool heating systems. Heating a pool without a cover is like heating a house without a roof the heat just goes right out the top. Without a pool cover, the cost of operating a Heat Pump or Gas Heater is doubled, and a Solar Heaterâs effectiveness is dramatically decreased. For convenience a roller may be added to ease placement and removal of the cover. If a pool cover is not being used, the size of the heater must be increased by 75% â 100%.
Solar pool covers save energy, reduce evaporation loss as much as 90% and cuts nighttime heat loss while keeping your pool free of debris. High profile bubble covers are available in Economy 8mil, Deluxe heavy 12mil and Premium extra heavy 15 mil bubble. Rectangular, round, free-form and custom sizes are available.
Also Check: Solar Panel Kit Harbor Freight
What Is The Best Color To Choose When It Comes To A Solar Cover For Your Inground Pool
As covered above, Solar pool covers are available in several degrees of thickness. When it comes to blue vs clear solar pool covers, in general blue solar covers are lighter and less think than clear or non-colored solar pool covers, this makes them more durable and usually better at heating your inground swimming pool.
Blue solar covers often measure 4 mils and 8 mils . Clear solar covers can measure 12 mils and 16 mils .
Thicker pool covers can be more on the pricey end compared to their thinner blue counterparts. We recommend picking one of our top 3 options we tested and reviewed in detail above based on your budget and how long you want your solar pool cover to last.
You May Like: How To Filter Well Water For Pool
Do Solar Pool Covers Really Work
Yes! Every time you lose water, through splashing or evaporation, you have to replace it. And new water takes energy to heat. Solar pool covers help retain the heat already in the water by reducing water evaporation. And they act as a magnifying glass to amplify the suns warming effect on your pool water.
Donât Miss: How Many Solar Panels For 800 Sq Ft Home
Save Money On Chemicals
We use chlorine in our pools to destroy algae, bacteria and germs. Chlorine is expensive. The sun is an excellent heat source, but also produces UV radiation. UV radiation breaks down chlorine to an unusable state.
In a pool, chlorine is combined with other chemicals to give it some protection from UV rays, but its not a perfect system. Even with chemical protection, chlorine remains somewhat vulnerable. Solar pool covers provide another layer of protection against the loss of chlorine, meaning youll have to replace it less often.
You May Like: Hot Springs Hot Tubs For Sale
How Fast Does A Solar Cover Heat A Pool
In an inground swimming pool, a solar cover can increase the water temperature by 5 to 8 degrees F for every 12 hours of coverage. With no cover at all, pool water absorbs a substantial amount of sunlight. A white plaster pool averaging 4.5 feet in depth absorbs approximately 60% of the suns energy. This energy will heat the pool by about 0.7°F per hour under direct midday sunlight. See our full deep dive into how fast a solar cover heats a swimming pool here.
Sun2solar Midwest Canvas Clear Diamond
The Sun2Solar Midwest Canvas Solar Cover is the best solar cover for an inground pool for those looking for a budget-friendly option. It offers good heat retention throughout various seasons. This is made from a resin material, and the cover itself is a clear cover.
Unlike many other common solar covers, this uses diamond-shaped bubbles with the claim that with a diamond design you get greater coverage of bubbles to absorb more UV rays. While the low price on this solar pool cover definitely makes it a good value for the ones we evaluated, it did rank low on both ease-of-use as well as durability compared to others.
Next, on our best solar cover for inground pool list, we have this solar cover from Down Under that makes use of a double blue layer technology that aims to give the cover more durability. It features reinforced seams that try to help it fight against wear and wind resistance in spite of the fact that it is very lightweight.
More about the durability, this solar cover is made from vinyl that is UV stabilized to fight of fading from both the sun and the chemicals from the pool. Also, it comes with a decent 3-year warranty. Althought it works well, our biggest issue with the Down Under Blue Solar Cover is that it is often not available to buy and probably not the best choice for someone needing a solar pool cover in a timely manner.
Don’t Miss: Where To Buy Swimming Pools