The fastest way to heat your pool is to use a gas pool heater and a solar cover. It's like heating up your coffee in the microwave and putting a lid on it. No matter how you plan to heat your pool, you should at least have a solar cover (or liquid solar cover) to help you retain the heat.
Black hose trick
Fill up your pool using a long, black garden hose (PVC is best). Make sure the hose is in direct sunlight so that it can absorb as much of the sun's heat as possible; since black absorbs more heat, this is a cheap yet effective way of heating your pool.
If you want to get as much time as possible out of your pool, however, a heater is a good investment. With a pool heater, you can easily be swimming May through mid-October, giving you a good five months of use out of your pool. That's literally double the amount of time you'd get without one.
A swimming pool tarp, for example, that's black on both sides is like a giant solar panel. Because a black tarp on a swimming pool's water surface traps solar heat energy, it will eventually turn cool, refreshing pool water into a tepid, warm bath.
Outdoor wood boilers are an excellent renewable alternative energy for hot water, especially for those energy sucking hot tubs and pools that everyone loves to play in but hates to pay to heat.
Conclusion. Solar rings not only keep your pool water warm but also reduce the amount of dirt and debris that might end up in your pool. With solar rings, you won't have to worry about any chemicals or electricity to maintain the temperature of your pool.
When the water in your pool evaporates, it carries with it the heat, consequently cooling down your pool. So, if you can prevent evaporation, then you can significantly reduce the amount of heat loss. As such, covering your pool will help to warm the water up.
On average, natural gas burns about 1 therm per 100,000 BTUs per hour (British Thermal Units). Meaning, an average pool heater between 300,000 and 400,000 BTUs will cost anywhere from $3.30 to $4.40 per hour to heat your pool.
The national average cost for installing a solar pool heater is between $3,000 to $7,000 on average, with most people paying $5,000 for a glazed solar-panel pool heater for a 12-foot x 24-foot in-ground pool.
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.
Put black garbage bags in the pool for a cheaper heating solution.
When the "bubble paper" pool cover absorbs the suns rays it gradually heats the water in the pool while the cool pool water keeps the solar cover cool. The pool cover will usually heat the pool water up by one degree per day.
Pools are no different. A dark bottom pool will likely be a few degrees warmer than a sandstone or white pool. The deeper your pool's pigment is, the more heat you can expect it to retain.
Water Temperature
Using the heater only when the water dips below a certain point keeps the energy consumption down. For the average person, a pool that is 78 degrees or higher is comfortable. If you are trying to save money or energy, run your heater only when the pool water temperature dips below 78.
However, in the Northwest U.S., a pool heater might be necessary to extend the swimming season for a large above ground pool. If you only need to warm up your pool a few times a season, or the pool isn't permanently installed, using a liquid heat blanket could be sufficient.
Right now, an unglazed solar system can heat a pool to 78-85 degrees Fahrenheit without much effort. Solar pool heating panels last about 20 years, so in that scenario you could be looking at about 17 years of cost savings.
Solar pool heating systems can last 20-25 years or longer, so we also offer some extended warranty options for additional coverage.
Heat pumps will use around 5,000 watts or 5 kilowatts per hour per 100,000 BTU's. For a typical size 100,000 BTU heat pump, that's 5 kilowatts per hour. The average for electricity in our area runs $. 16 cents per kilowatt hour.