SUN SOLUTIONS

Swimming Pool Heating

Background
Though civilizations have long sought to capture the sun's rays for uses ranging from weapons to cooking, the first solar water heating collector appears to have been built in the 18th Century by a Swiss scientist named Horace Benedict de Saussure. It was simply a wooden box with a glass top and a black base. By trapping solar energy, the collector reached a temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit.

The U.S. solar water and space heating industry currently incorporates approximately 30 companies involved in the manufacturing of solar collectors generating $65 million in annual sales. Today, more than one million homes in our country alone use state-of-the-art solar equipment to heat water for household use, and over three hundred thousand families use simple solar collectors to heat the water in their swimming pools. Solar collectors are common sights on homes and buildings throughout much of the developed world, and many Third World countries use simple solar collectors as their only source of hot water.

The Technology
Solar energy refers to the use of the sun's rays rather than electricity, oil, kerosene or natural gas to provide heat for a wide variety of uses. Solar thermal systems collect the sun's heat and either direct it for use (such as heating water or producing steam for power), or store it for later use. Recent scientific and engineering advances, coupled with dramatic improvements in the quality of materials and design, have made the United States a world leader in the development and application of solar heat technologies.

This is one of the most attractive solar water heating options today. The relatively simple equipment needed, the small heating requirement, and the high cost of conventional fuels makes it very efficient.

Because homeowners usually want to raise the pool water temperature just 8 to 10 degrees--enough of an increase to extend the swimming season up to three or four months in most parts of the country--very simple solar collectors are used. Most solar pool collectors are made of a black plastic material with tubes running in a parallel fashion. No glass or plastic covering is used in these systems. Since the pool itself serves as the storage tank, no separate storage unit is needed.

The pool's filtration pump is often used to force water through the collectors. An average pool heating system might consist of 8 to 10 collectors, with an electronic controller and pump.

Economics
The average solar pool heating system costs about $4,200. However, the cost of heating a pool with conventional fuels ranges from about $500 per season to more than $2,000 per year. Most pool owners with electric, fuel oil or propane heaters no longer use them because of the high costs of these fuels.

The significant savings over the cost of conventional fuels pays back the system investment in about three to four years. In addition, the consumer benefits from an immediate extension of the swimming season. Solar pool collectors also are economical systems for heating spas and hot tubs.

The Sun Solutions brochure also contains information on solar water heating, solar electricity, solar thermal power, passive solar energy and energy conservation. If you'd like to view the entire document, click here.

This document was developed by:

Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation
Solar Energy Industries Association
1616 H Street NW, #800
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 628-7745
Fax: (202) 628-7779