Solar heating for above ground pool

[Doc8404]

Central NY (Utica area).
30' round (21,500 gallon) above ground Radiant brand pool. 2" R12 insulation in the solid walls.
On the south side of the house.
Surrounded by six foot chain link fence.

Am exploring the feasibility of adding solar panels and a system to heat the water.

1) From what I am reading, mounting on the chain link fence vertically would work. Is that true?
2) will only use during the spring, summer and fall and shut down in winter. Do I drain it then? Or if I am going through that effort, should I just add a power storage system for electrical outages?
3) Can I put all the plumbing underground to avoid trip hazards? Fence is 16 feet away from pool.

Again, just exploring this and instead of asking at www.troublefreepools.com I figure I would ask here.

thanks
Rob

[J.P.M.]

Do not heat the water with PV. That's like cutting butter with a chain saw. Making it more efficient by using a heat pump adds to the cost and complexity.

First, and most cost effective: Get a solar pool cover and use it. That'll get you about 1/3 -1/2 the way to your warmer water goal depending on diligence of use for probably less than $100. PV will run you several thousand $$'s or more.

For the rest of the pool heating load, use solar thermal pool heaters designed for that purpose. They will be much less expensive to purchase and install, and about 2 or 3 times as efficient as using resistance heat, or about equally efficient as a heat pump scheme for a lot less $$ and maint.

I'd start with a pool collector area of about 250 ft.^2 or so, maybe a bit less, and keep the design flexible so you can add additional area as your needs dictate. See solar pool heaters on the net. Google is your friend.

Assuming any solar collectors will face the equator in a general sense, any solar energy collection devices for summer use, either thermal or PV, will work best in a more horizontal orientation, facing mostly south, +/- 30 deg. or so of true south.

For your lat. the best tilt is something like 25-30 deg. off horizontal, and facing mostly south. Whatever you use, keep it off the fence unless you want to double the collector area for the same or less performance at about 2X the cost.

In the summer, @ your latitude, vertical orientation solar collectors - like on a fence, work only about half as good as those with an orientation of 25 deg. or so off horizontal.

[Doc8404]

what's PV?
we have a solar cover on it...
thanks for the reply.

considering these

http://www.solarpanelsplus.com/products/solar-pool-heaters/

[J.P.M.]

what's PV?
we have a solar cover on it...
thanks for the reply.

Forget the PV references. I got confused by the reference to "...power storage system for electrical outages". Do you use the cover in the summer ? Whatever you do, know that vertical collectors will collect about half as much energy as closer too horizontal.

[annakids]

Central NY (Utica area).
30' round (21,500 gallon) above ground Radiant brand pool. 2" R12 insulation in the solid walls.
On the south side of the house.
Surrounded by six foot chain link fence.

Am exploring the feasibility of adding solar panels and a system to heat the water.

1) From what I am reading, mounting on the chain link fence vertically would work. Is that true?
2) will only use during the spring, summer and fall and shut down in winter. Do I drain it then? Or if I am going through that effort, should I just add a power storage system for electrical outages?
3) Can I put all the plumbing underground to avoid trip hazards? Fence is 16 feet away from pool.

Again, just exploring this and instead of asking at www.troublefreepools.com I figure I would ask here.

thanks
Rob

Well, there are some myths that you should remember.
1> It depends on each case. So results can be different
2> You can keep the water in pool during winter, but you can drain it. As long as you can maintain and keep the pool clean
3> This should be
I also check the source you mentioned. It may be helpful if you can get specific answers from different sources.
P/S: I tried to search the answers on google and found. You may give it a try.

[J.P.M.]

Central NY (Utica area).
30' round (21,500 gallon) above ground Radiant brand pool. 2" R12 insulation in the solid walls.
On the south side of the house.
Surrounded by six foot chain link fence.

Am exploring the feasibility of adding solar panels and a system to heat the water.

1) From what I am reading, mounting on the chain link fence vertically would work. Is that true?
2) will only use during the spring, summer and fall and shut down in winter. Do I drain it then? Or if I am going through that effort, should I just add a power storage system for electrical outages?
3) Can I put all the plumbing underground to avoid trip hazards? Fence is 16 feet away from pool.

Again, just exploring this and instead of asking at www.troublefreepools.com I figure I would ask here.

thanks
Rob

See prior posts.