Estimating the savings by adding solar heat to your swimming pool.

The amount of heat loss from your swimming pool is a function of many variables. It will be dependent upon water temperature, air temperature, wind velocity, relative humidity, solar heat gain during the day and radiant heat loss at night.

By searching the Internet, you will be able to find a number of approaches to perform this complex calculation. It will involve complex formulas with many graphs, charts and tables. Many of the people who have developed these models will admit that they are not perfect. In other words, it is just an approximation.

At WSE, we believe in keeping things simple. We have taken some of the models and simplified them into our own approximation. We also admit that it will not be exact, but it will give you a rough idea about how much heat you need for your situation. Note that the assumptions used for the evaporative heat loss calculation are sort of in the middle of normal use. Make adjustments up or down as you see fit.

When you start to play with the model below, it will become obvious that evaporative heat loss is a big factor. This reinforces the argument for having a good pool cover and keeping it in place when the pool is not being used.

In most situations, solar heating of pool water should be viewed as reducing your heating costs rather than eliminating them. If you attempt to design a solar collector to entirely replace your pool heater, you will experience large capital costs and will have situations during the hot months where you will have excess heat. Remember that it is a simple matter to add additional solar panels in the future.

The third part of the calculator helps you to estimate your annual savings based upon the type and number of panels you choose.

To use this calculator enter the following information in the boxes.

• Pool dimensions
• Pool temperature
• Your average daily air temperature
• Your guess of wind velocity in your yard
• Number of uncovered hours
• Number of days from startup to shutdown
• Average daily hours of sun for your area
• Your natural gas cost

Once you have done the above, you can start to play with the number and type of panels to see what effect it will have on your wallet. Do not worry too much about how accurate the above numbers are. You have a pretty good idea about what your own back yard climate is.

Feel free to change the actual number and type of panels to see the effect upon your savings. Remember it is easy to add more panels in the future.

If you would like to be able to use the same solar panels after pool season to provide heat to a garage or other building, it is best to choose the WSE58 panels. If you can make use of the heat year around, your savings will be multiplied.

As you can see from the estimated 20 year life savings, a solar system will pay for itself quickly and then start putting money back into your pocket.

To get prices on WSE47 panels click here.

To get prices on WSE58 panels click here.

To get prices on WSE BC Flat panels click here.