Before discussing anything else about solar pool heating, it should first be mentioned that pool heating is at this time, the single most popular purpose of solar energy in the US. There is no other application of solar energy that is used as much as thermoplastic pool heating. The reason for such statistics can be understood once you realize that it is one of the most cost effective solar energy apparatus available. You can set up a good quality solar pool heating system with just a few hundred dollars nowadays. Solar pool heating systems are also easy to install and increases the merit of the property, without increasing the pressure on your total residential electrical consumption. Even the motor function necessary for circulating the pool water through the solar collectors is not something that you may need to arrange for. As every pool already has a pump for filtering purposes, the same can be used for the circulatory purpose as well. What is more encouraging is that the government in certain states may even offer tax incentives on using such solar pool heating systems.

The water in the pool is filtered and then passed through solar collectors in order to heat it and these collectors are often placed on the roof to maximize the utility of the available sunlight. The heated water is now returned to the pool and the cycle continues for as long as necessary. In order to control the speed of the entire cycle, a control valve is also attached to the system to give more control over the heating process to the user. Although a solar pool heater is primarily used for heating, during the hottest months the same apparatus can also be used to cool the temperature of the pool down by a few degrees, simply by passing the water in the pool over the solar collectors during the night.

As it is obvious, the most important part of the solar pool heaters is the solar collector, and depending on the climatic conditions and your specific needs, the solar collectors will differ from one another. The heavy-duty rubber and plastic collectors are exposed to UV rays in order to make them even tougher, before they are shipped outside the factory for sale. These non-glaze solar collectors are reliable and are most popular due to their low price and easy installation benefits. However, these won’t be sufficient to heat the pool if the temperature in your area falls to zero degree or even lower than that. If you want to use the pool under such conditions, you will need the more expensive glazed collectors that have copper tubing along with an underlying aluminum sheet to heat the pool water in even sub-zero temperatures. Remember though, that choose what is best suited to you needs and of course the climatic conditions of the place where you live in.

•