Don’t have a solar pool heating system? What can you do if the water is cold?
Many pool owners who don't have solar pool heating system are asking themselves “how come I live in such a warm area and my pool is still cold to swim in?” The answer is not simple, and the factors which affect the pool temperature are not intuitive.
In general, most of the pools lose their heat due to evaporation, which occurs in dry and hot climates as well as in high elevated regions. That is the reason why a typical pool in Arizona, Nevada or Mexico City will be colder than an identical pool in Florida or the Bahamas when operating under the same ambient temperature.
Additional “drivers” for cold pools is shading and wind, which typically happens in pools near the beach or in high elevated regions. The shading eliminates direct sun from heating the pool water and wind takes away all the heat from the pool (similarly to chilling a bowl of soup by blowing on its’ surface).
The last major factor is coming from the ambient temperatures variations between night and day. In some places, even when the days are pretty warm, the nights are still cold, and all the heat absorbed by the pool during the day is emitted during night time.
What can be done in order to keep my pool warmer and enjoyable to swim in?
- Cover the pool when it's not in use, this will totally block evaporation, wind and chilly night effects.
- If possible, remove shading above the pool or install a shading which shades part of the pool and not the entire pool.
- Make sure your pool is not exposed to direct wind either by installing a wind barrier/ blocking fence or growing medium bushes around the pool
- Finally, you may install a solar system that will heat your pool for free whenever sun radiation is available.
