Heating pool with solar powered electric heater?

[SWFL]

Hello all,

My pool is ~ 8000 gallons. I've looked into the usual solar pool heaters, but don't like the look of having panels carpeting the roof for the inline systems that go through the pump. I also don't have a few thousand dollars laying around to fund it.

I'm wondering about the feasibility of a submersible electric heater powered by a small set of solar panels beside the house instead. Something portable so I can just pull it out of the pool and put it away when I'm happy with the temperature.

I'm in SW Florida, so don't need a lot of heating. Even now in late November, ~5-10 degrees would be enough to change it from a little chilly to comfortable. I don't know much about solar electricity, and don't have a handle on whether or not panels like that can generate anywhere near enough electricity to make this useful. If anyone has looked into this and can chime in, I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks!

Dan

[J.P.M.]

Hello all,

My pool is ~ 8000 gallons. I've looked into the usual solar pool heaters, but don't like the look of having panels carpeting the roof for the inline systems that go through the pump. I also don't have a few thousand dollars laying around to fund it.

I'm wondering about the feasibility of a submersible electric heater powered by a small set of solar panels beside the house instead. Something portable so I can just pull it out of the pool and put it away when I'm happy with the temperature.

I'm in SW Florida, so don't need a lot of heating. Even now in late November, ~5-10 degrees would be enough to change it from a little chilly to comfortable. I don't know much about solar electricity, and don't have a handle on whether or not panels like that can generate anywhere near enough electricity to make this useful. If anyone has looked into this and can chime in, I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks!

Dan

Feasible, but pretty expensive. Start with a pool cover. Cheapest pool heater around.

Most of the time heating water with electricity is like cutting butter with a chain saw. Match the resource to the task. Looks aside, solar pool heaters are in common use for a reason. Besides, without a heat pump, solar electric panels sized to do what you want will probably take up more room than solar thermal panels. If aesthetics are a concern, consider nat. gas if available.

Solar electric ~~ 14-18% system efficiency. Solar thermal pool water heating panels ~~ 50% or so, maybe more depending.

Pay your money - take your choice.

[SWFL]

Got it. Thank you for the info! It sounds like I'd need an acre of solar panels to make this work, so I'll move on to coming up with my next bad idea.

[russ]

There are some heat pump type of heaters that apparently achieve a very high COP - due to the low working temperatures.

[trainpilot]

I like the chainsaw metaphor. There are some relatively inexpensive coils of black plastic pvc that can work pretty well and don't look too bad. I did some home made okie versions a few years ago that I put up on the roof. They worked great on warm sunny days, particularly if the air temps are at or above your target pool temp. They didn't look very good though, and they trapped leaves and such on the roof. I agree that the first step to a warmer pool should be a cover, even if only at night for aesthetic reasons. the cover not only insulates the top of the pool, but also greatly reduces evaporation which cools pool water the same way it cools our bodies. If your pool is above ground (I know it's not upslope as you're in FL) you might be able to use solar collectors positioned below the pool and, if the plumbing is done properly, the heat would circulate the water without running the pump (thermosiphon).

[russ]

for the black plastic coil type look at http://rimstar.org/renewnrg/solar_po...ter_diy_fp.htm

[SWFL]

Thanks everyone for the input! I appreciate the help.

Dan

[izzabella]

heating expert

You can go for other heating installation purpose also