Should You Construct Your Own Solar Pool Heater?

Posted by cheapsolarcells on June 6th, 2010

From the operators of www.GreenLivingRocks.com — providing education regarding how to make a homemade solar panel, solar energy, and solar battery charger.

Building your own solar pool heater is a fantastic do-it-yourself project if you desire to add solar to your home. You will not need to get a lot of costly equipment or tools. And you will not need highly specialized skills. Here is a fundamental explanation of the process and benefits so you can make your mind up if you want to tackle it.

The project payback time can be as short as 2 years in terms of energy savings. This is because you will be saving the cost of gas to heat your pool. And the cost of materials for building a solar pool heater is lower than with most other solar projects. You will also be saving the price of installation if you decide to go ahead and do that yourself.

You will need to buy only a few simple components: solar collectors, piping, a controller and a diverter valve. You will not need to build or buy a storage reservoir, since your pool already stores the water. And you will not need to obtain, build or install a circulating pump, since your solar pool heater will use your pool’s circulating pump.

Here’s a simple explanation of how the system operates. The water from the pool gets pumped into the solar collector, gets heated by the sun and gets pumped back into the pool. This is called an open loop design. The controller allows you to select the warmest temperature you want the pool to reach. And the diverter valve either sends water back to the pool if it is already warm enough, or over to the collector to be heated as needed.

The solar collector is a simple system of black polypropylene UV-resistant tubing. The choice of materials is vital so that the tubing doesn’t break down from exposure to the sun or from exposure from the chlorine in the pool. The right materials will last up to 20 years.

Although it is attractive to think of doing it all yourself, including making the solar collector, it is really easier and more cost effective to buy ready made collectors for your project. The reason is that adhesives will not stick to polypropylene, and the equipment you would need to thermal weld it would cost more than buying the ready-made collectors. In addition, experts advise against using a cheaper rubber or plastic tubing that will break down too quickly because of exposure to the sun and chlorine.

If you decide that you really want to install your solar pool heating system yourself, the easiest way is to purchase a kit. You will still need to design measure and install your system. And you will be able to enjoy the fruits of your efforts for years afterwards.

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