Are Solar Pool Covers Worth the Investment?
It’s summertime, which means it’s going to become harder to regulate your pool’s temperature and control the heat loss that happens due to water evaporation. To solve this, many swimming pool owners are now investing in solar pools, but should you invest in a solar pool cover as well? To answer this question, you need to understand how solar pool covers function. In the next few points, we detail the features of solar pool covers and how they work to help you decide whether or not they are a worthy investment.
They Minimize Water Evaporation and Increase Temperature
When summer comes to an end, the temperature will start to drop, and it will become harder to enjoy swimming in cold temperatures. By using solar pool covers, you’ll prevent the water temperature from decreasing. In fact, research shows that using solar pool covers increases the water temperature by 4 degrees, thus allowing you to enjoy swimming in the pool, even in cold weather. Sure, you can use an electric or a gas heater to warm your water, but if you use a solar pool cover, you will certainly shave a couple of bucks off your electricity bill. This means that these covers are cost-effective and an easy way to easily maintain your pool without having to exert a lot of effort.
There Are Different Designs Available
You might think that solar covers all look the same but in reality, each model has a different design. If you take a close look at these options you will find that they have multiple designs like hexagons, diamonds, or bubbles. Besides looking aesthetically pleasing, they also function as a way to trap heat beneath the cover and maintain the temperature of the water. The bigger the design pattern is, the lower its capability of trapping heat, so make sure to take this into consideration as you browse through different pool covers.
They Reduce Chlorine Consumption
We all know why swimming pool water always smells like chlorine; simply because it’s the best sanitizer out there, but it can degrade under UV rays, which is why you’ll find yourself using more quantities of chlorine to sanitize your swimming pool. However, if you buy a UV resistant cover, you won’t have to worry about this at all. What’s even better is that your chlorinator won’t use much energy. If you’re using liquid chlorine, then you will save more time pumping it into the pool, and you’ll also save money on liquid chlorine.
You Won’t Have to Clean the Pool
If you’re not using a solar pool cover, then you are already familiar with the arduous process of removing leaves and debris off the surface of the pool. Using a cover will save you the trouble by keeping the leaves dry, so they’ll either blow off, or you can remove them with a leaf blower. This will make pool maintenance easier and will reduce your chlorine consumption, as the water in the swimming pool will be less exposed to organic matter. As a result, this will keep your water clean and reduce your energy consumption, as the load on the pool filter and pumps will decrease.
The thickness of the Cover
Thick covers have their merits, as they won’t be easily blown off by the wind, and they’ll achieve more heat retention than their counterparts. However, you don’t want your cover to be too heavy, as you’ll have to remove it every time the swimming pool is in use, which can be too hard of a task. Plus, the thicker the cover is, the more money you’ll pay for it, so make sure that you find a cover that is thick enough to achieve maximum efficiency, but not too heavy to be easily removed.
They Need to Be Custom-Sized
One of the downsides many pool owners notice when they buy a solar pool cover is the size, especially if they have an irregularly-shaped swimming pool. In that case, you will have to look for a vendor who can do a personalized fitting for your pool in order to make you a fitting cover, which can increase the amount of money you will have to pay.
Although various complications may arise when buying a solar pool cover, many people regard it as a smart investment, especially if they’ve bought their cover from a well-known, trusted vendor. So, after taking all this information into consideration, we can say that solar pool covers are a worthy investment, but the final verdict should be determined by you, the buyer.
