Covering a pool when it is not in use is the single most effective means of reducing pool heating costs. Savings of 50%–70% are possible. Pool covers on indoor pools not only can reduce evaporation but also the need to ventilate indoor air and replace it with unconditioned outdoor air.
Prevent heat from escaping your pool: Retaining heat is especially important at night, when the air is cooler than the swimming pool. Directly convert solar radiation into usable heat: In an in-ground pool, a cover can increase the water temperature by 5 degrees F for each 12 hours of coverage.
Insulating the Pool Water from Heat Loss
Air bubbles in the pool cover act as an insulator in a similar way that your thermos would keep water warm. A pool cover will, therefore, keep your pool water warmer for longer.
If your ambient temperature is decent and there is not much wind, leaving the pool cover off will heat the water faster (and not just heat the cover and the water near it).
Covering won't lower the temperature of your pool drastically, but it will prevent the water from getting warmer. If the water is at the temperature you want, make sure to keep it that way by covering it up tightly whenever you're not using it, especially during the day.
In dry and/or windy conditions, the evaporation rate of the pool increases. Therefore, it is generally beneficial to have a transparent or bubble cover on during daylight hours. In warm, humid conditions the evaporation rate decreases. In this case, it may be more beneficial to leave the cover off during the daytime.
You should cover your pool every night for several reasons. First off, a pool cover saves energy and conserves water by decreasing the amount of make-up water. Also, it reduces the consumption of chemicals, and finally, it saves a lot of cleaning time since it keeps the debris out of the pool.
So while a solar cover won't actually 'turn your pool green', it will warm your water by up to 8 degrees, so if the other conditions are right, adding a solar cover can easily accelerate algae growth, very rapidly. You need to get the water balance in your pool right before putting the cover back on.
On average, the rise in temperature will be 2 to 5 degrees F for each circulation of water through the solar system. It normally takes from 8 to 12 hours to cycle all of the water in your pool so you can expect an overall temperature rise of 5 to 15 degree F after several days of sunny weather.
Pools that are not covered can lose 4 degrees F to 5 degrees F overnight in most parts of the country. With a cover, you can reduce that heat loss by 50% or more. So without a heater you should be able to use your pool in the afternoons and early evenings in the warmest part of the season.
Other than heating pools during the day, solar blankets also help the pool retain heat by protecting the water from cool night winds and air. How many degrees will a solar cover heat a pool? On average, a fully covered pool can gain between 10-15 degrees on a sunny day within about 6 hours.
In sunny areas, a dark cover will provide some additional heat. When used the right way, a black tarp can help with pool heating. For example, when using the black hose trick, you can lay your black hoses on a black tarp. This can help generate more heat.
Overall, the lessons learned today is you should run your pool pump an average 8 hours a day to properly circulate and clean your water. The pump should push your entire pool in gallons in this 8 hour period of time. Residential pool water only needs to be turned over once daily to have proper filtration.
Leaving your solar blanket on the pool over winter will allow you keep leaves and other organic material out of the pool. Which means less cleaning for you and also less food for algae or other bugs. What is this? The other benefit of keeping the blanket in place is it will help to minimize chemical evaporation.
Solution. Never close the cover immediately after shocking the pool. It is recommended to wait several hours before closing the cover. Use a test kit to regularly test the pool water.
The size of your pool, the efficiency of your pump and filter, and how dirty your pool is are just some of the factors you need to consider. Nevertheless, most pool cleaning professionals would advise against running a pool pump for more than 8 hours a day.
One of the main reasons that we would recommend getting a swimming pool cover, is that it retains the swimming pool heat, thus retaining energy and reducing the overall running costs. Most of a pools heat is lost through the surface of the water. If the pool is uncovered this will make its way into the air.
When preparing your pool for a storm, leave it uncovered. Installing any kind of cover across the pool will not do much to protect against dust and contaminants because storms often bring strong winds and heavy rain that can cause the cover to lift off your pool.
While pools should be never above 95 degrees, anywhere in the 90-92 degree range creates a comfortable, yet therapeutically warm environment for older swimmers or infants and toddlers learning how to swim.
Bacteria, algae and other organisms thrive under warm water conditions this is obviously harmful not just for athletes but the general public in a commercial swimming pool, for competitive pools the water should be no higher than 82°F (28°C), for recreational pools the recommended maximum is 84°F (29°C).
Night Air is Cooler
Sometime, the air temperature will drop even lower than the pool water. Since the pool water temperature will not change that much within one or two hours, the cooler air makes the water feel warmer than it was previously.
Basically, the best time to use a solar pool cover is anytime you're not swimming. This will help maintain your water level and keep your pool water to a nice heated swimming temperature. Especially during the nighttime when temperatures are most likely to drop.
Solar covers will help a pool warm up faster in the spring and help maintain warmth in a pool a little longer in the fall but one misconception about them is that they will warm up a pool in the dead of winter, which simply is not the case.