Pool heating. Why solar is the best.

Nothing determines use of a pool more than water temperature. In Melbourne if you have a pool and a house with a roof you want solar heating. It’s cheap to run and highly effective and efficient in the period from Late October to early April. We include solar heating as standard on all jobs using Sunbather solar heating products – please visit their website for more information.

Credit: Sunbather

Solar heating works by using continuously 0.7kw of electricity / hr ($0.08/hr) to run the solar pump to move approximately 150L of water per minute through a labyrinthine complex of capillary tubes (basically this is a system whereby the surface area of the pool water is increased and heat / thermal energy from the sun is transferred through the solar collector (capillary tube / black matt) into the pool water). On a day with direct sun, 28C air temperatures and 24C water temps effectively you will gain a temp increase of about 2 degrees as the water re-enters the pool after travelling through the solar. This doesn’t sound like much but remember the water volume of 150L / min is huge. 

This is by far the best and most efficient way to heat your pool compared to the alternatives. For a more detailed comparison, check out our page on the best way of heating a pool and spa.