Having a swimming pool in the backyard must be nice, but that is until the cold weather comes. You then realize that without a heating system, your pool will be a wasteful facility because you can’t use it for several months in a year. Besides, if you are a busy person who works during the day, you should also consider buying a solar pool heater and a battery system so that you can use it after the sunset.

The Benefits You Are Looking for

Although pool heater installation may sound like a lot of work to do, the truth is you can install a solar pool heater in a matter of hours. There are no in-ground plumbing, sophisticated electrical wiring, or gas pipe installation. Your yard is safe from any invasive procedures! 

The second benefit you can expect from a solar pool heater is energy efficiency. The cost of the purchase and installation may reach $4000 or even $5000, depending on how large the solar panels are. But they will pay off after three or four years because the energy source of the heating system is freely available. It’s solar power, after all. 

Third, solar heating requires less maintenance compared to gas and electricity because there are no corroding heat exchangers, motors, fans, or other moving parts that can break.

The Challenges You Should Expect

The only problem with solar pool heater is that not every place on Earth has the same amount of solar rays. And it significantly affects the size of the solar panels you are going to install. If you live in the southern hemisphere, like Arizona, for example, there is a 90% possibility of sunshine all year long. If you have 512 square feet in-ground swimming pool there, you will need solar panels that can cover 75% of the pool’s surface area, which is around 384 square feet. But if you live in the northern hemisphere, you will have to get solar panels with 100% coverage because the sunlight intensity there is low. 

Also, if this is your first time to install solar panels, you’d better hire a professional installation expert so that the panels are placed where you can get the most solar power. In some houses, this process can get even trickier than it should be. For example, if there are parts in your house that are taller than the rest, they may create shadows that can cover the ideal place for the solar panels. In that case, consult an expert first before you buy it. Otherwise, you may waste your money!

The Maintenance You Will Need

Hard impacts on the panels can create cracks. Therefore, you should check if there are hails or strong wind turbulence that brings solid debris ever happening in your area. But you’d better take any chance, anyway. You’d better invest in covers and an alarm system. 

Moreover, you should also schedule a technician visit at least once a year. You need to get all the solar heater parts checked. It’d be much more affordable to replace broken parts when the damage is still small than to wait for it until it gets bigger.