How to reduce swimming pool heating costs by using a pool cover
Use of a pool cover can significantly reduce swimming pool heating, can help reduce the size of a solar pool heating system, which can save money. But, how it works?
Evaporation is by far the largest source of energy loss in a swimming pool and evaporating water requires tremendous amounts of energy. These are the characteristics of the outdoor pool energy loss:
- 70% for evaporation
- 20% for radiation to sky
- 10% losses to ground and other
The evaporation rate from an outdoor pool varies depending on the pool's temperature, air temperature and humidity, and the wind speed at the pool surface. The higher the pool temperature and wind speed and the lower the humidity, the greater the evaporation rate. Indoor pools aren't subjected to the environment, but they still can lose a lot of energy from evaporation. They even require room ventilation to control indoor humidity caused by the large amount of evaporation. The ventilated air also must be conditioned, which adds to the energy costs.
- 70% for evaporation
- 27% for ventilation
- 3% other
It is possible to minimize evaporation from both outdoor and indoor pools by using a pool cover. Covering a pool when it is not in use is the single most effective means of reducing pool heating costs, savings of 50% –70%. Pool covers on indoor pools not only can reduce evaporation but also the need to ventilate indoor air and replace it with unconditioned outdoor air. You can also shut off exhaust fans when an indoor pool is covered, which saves even more energy. Besides offering energy savings, pool covers also do the following: conserve water by reducing the amount of make-up water needed by 30%–50%; reduce the pool's chemical consumption by 35%–60%; reduce cleaning time by keeping dirt and other debris out of the pool.
Some types of pool covers
Cover designed specifically for swimming pools are made of special materials, such as UV-stabilized polyethylene, polypropylene, or vinyl. They can be transparent or opaque. Covers can even be light or dark colored. Outdoor pools gain heat from the sun, absorbing 75%–85% of the solar energy striking the pool surface. This is an important contribution to the pool's heating needs. A pool cover will decrease the solar gain contribution to some extent, depending on what type you use. A transparent bubble cover may reduce pool solar energy absorption by 5%–15%. A completely opaque cover will reduce it by 20%–40%. You need to consider this when selecting a pool cover.
-bubble (or solar) cover: it is one of the lowest cost covers made specifically for swimming. Bubble covers are similar to bubble packing material except they use a thicker grade of plastic and have UV inhibitors.
-Vinyl covers: consist of a heavier material and have a longer life expectancy than bubble covers. Insulated vinyl covers are also available with a thin layer of flexible insulation sandwiched between two layers of vinyl.
Manual, semi-automatic, or an automatic?
You can manually pull the cover on and off, fold it, and place it somewhere out of the way. You can also purchase a pool cover reel to help manually roll up the pool cover. The reel, usually on wheels, can be rolled out of the way. Semi-automatic covers use a motor-driven reel system. They use electrical power to roll and unroll the cover, but usually require someone to pull on the cover when unrolling, or guide the cover onto the reel when rolling up the cover. Semi-automatic covers can be built into the pool deck surrounding the pool, or can use reels on carts. Automatic covers have permanently mounted reels that automatically cover and uncover the pool at the push of a button. They're the most expensive option, but they're also the most convenient.
Do you want to know more? Get in touch with the excellence of the Italian cover producers
