What Solar Cover Do I Need?
What Solar Cover Do I Need?
Buying a new cover for your pool can be confusing if you don't understand the product and the various options available. Backed by years of industry experience and comprehensive knowledge, we’ve created a guide to answer our customers' top queries when it comes to making the right pool cover purchase.
Why Do I Need a Solar Cover?
Solar Pool Covers offer an effective and affordable way to help naturally heat your swimming pool. It does this by capturing energy from the sun and transferring it directly into your pool water, which in turn creates a comfortable swim that you can enjoy throughout the cooler months of the year.
Beyond moderating the water temperature of a swimming pool, solar pool covers also have other advantages for pool owners. By serving as a pool cover when the water isn’t in use, you can cut back on maintenance time and reduce water loss evaporation.
Benefits of Solar Covers
Saves on heating costs by retaining heat.
Prevents evaporation and reduces water consumption.
Is a protective barrier to any debris.
Insulates your pool.
Heat loss is a big problem because of evaporation. This is why solar covers are a cheap and effective way of retaining heat in your swimming pool, meaning you don’t have to rely on your pool heater as heavily.
The Science Behind Solar Covers
But how does this useful technology work?
The cover resembles a large sheet of plastic bubble wrap, though it is far more than just that!
The air pockets capture and trap the sun’s heat like a greenhouse. During the day, the cover transfers the heat to the water.
At night, the cover helps the water retain the sun’s warmth. The covers can increase the pool water temperature by as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Evaporation
Approximately 32,000 litres of water per year are lost due to evaporation. In just one average-sized pool (4 x 8m), that’s around 400 baths! This figure is even higher for windier and hotter environments.
Adding a swimming cover to your pool could eliminate evaporation by up to about 98%!
Chemical and Energy Consumption
Research has shown that, with the right measures, chemical consumption could be reduced by up to 30% (up to 5kg of chlorine). Also, energy consumption could be reduced by up to 70%.
Using a pool cover with a modern heat pump could save up to 7000kWh of electricity per year. Due to using less energy to heat and filter your swimming pool, the use of our GeoBubble covers will greatly cut down on your carbon footprint.
Debris
Insects, dirt, bird droppings, leaves, and other kinds of debris aren't just unpleasant to look at but also provide the perfect conditions for bacteria growth. With a cover, you drastically reduce the chances of contaminants getting in the water, greatly improving the feel and look of your pool.
When considering what type of solar cover you should buy, it’s important to think less in terms of aesthetic and more in performance. There are several features that will enhance the performance of your pool including colour and thickness:
The solar cover thickness is measured in micron, which is a small unit of millimetres. While you may think a thicker solar pool cover will yield better results, the truth is a thinner cover will retain and refract more heat back into the pool.
So why would you want a thicker cover?
Well, some pool owners prefer them because they are less likely to blow away in the strong winds. Contrarily, they prevent harmful UV rays from regrading pool chemicals much better than a thinner variant.
Solar cover thickness ultimately comes down to personal preference.
Do you want a warmer pool with the chance you’ll need to spend out on more chemicals? Or do you want to preserve your chemicals and have cooler water?
It is for that reason why most people stay in the middle, which is why we only supply the superior gradings ranging from 400M-600M.
Dark blue, light blue, gold, or silver? There are many different colour options to choose from with them all playing a big role in the function of a solar cover.
To help you decide between opaque, blue, and transparent covers, here’s a breakdown of the differences:
Transparent Pool Covers
Transparent Solar covers are the best option for heat gain, this is because they allow more UVA and infrared light to penetrate through the material than any other colour.
For instance, the Sol+Guard 500M Solar Pool Cover has the perfect amount of translucency for UV rays to pass through and warm the water. This innovative design features a pattern of two conjoined bubbles, meaning fewer weak points and an increase in lifespan by about 25%.
However, if your swimming pool is located within an area that has less than 6 hours of sunlight, an opaque cover might be a better choice as it will retain the heat better in a shorter duration. This is also true for shallower pools.
Blue Bubble Solar Cover is seen as the happy medium.
This is because they do a better job at trapping heat in the pool, reflecting the heat back into the pool that can radiate out of a clear solar cover more rapidly. Blue covers also will help conserve chemicals as they can block UV rays more effectively.
Opaque Pool Covers
Opaque pool covers are great for retaining heat in the pool, and although heat absorption and convection are higher, the heat gain during the day is far less than a transparent cover.
The Landy Bubble Solar Pool Cover is our most popular purchase; an excellent example of an opaque cover that will help save on energy and money.
This thicker cover has been manufactured to retain around 30-40% more heat than 400M covers. The coating on the underside of the cover is made of aluminium, helping to transmit more of the sun's rays into the water.
Another great example of an opaque pool cover is the Landy Bubble Solar Cover which has been designed to be darker to help inhibit the growth of algae as it prevents the UV Rays algae feeds on from passing through into the water, whilst allowing heating UV rays through. Perfect for pool owners who may struggle with algae control.
To find out more details on our other swimming pool covers, look here.
