Solar for swimming pool heating and/or C/H preheating

[Astronautilus]

Hi everyone...

I'm new to both the topic and this site, so be gentle with me

I'm thinking of buying a house in southern Spain (Latitude 37 degrees). It has a swimming pool which sadly, is rather shaded from direct sunlight. I'm not sure how much influence direct sunlight has on temperature (as opposed to air temperature), but it seems to me that a 1m x 2m ET array might be a good idea, if only to extend the swimming season a little.

I don't see much point in keeping the solar panels connected to the pool outside of this season, when the energy could (presumably) be put to better use. The house currently has a combi boiler (instant hot water) so no water cylinder, so I'm wondering what it would take to use the solar energy to preheat the water for central heating?

Or would I be better of installing a twin coil cylinder and just using it for domestic hot water?

Maybe a 1m x 2m array is too small to do anything significant, but as far as I can see there's no single place for a bigger array so it would mean having extra panels in more public places and connecting them in series. And the sun down hear is pretty powerful!

And what's the best way to switch between pool heating and DHW or C/H?

Sorry if these are dumb questions!

Rod

[cssolar]

Hi everyone...

I'm new to both the topic and this site, so be gentle with me

I'm thinking of buying a house in southern Spain (Latitude 37 degrees). It has a swimming pool which sadly, is rather shaded from direct sunlight. I'm not sure how much influence direct sunlight has on temperature (as opposed to air temperature), but it seems to me that a 1m x 2m ET array might be a good idea, if only to extend the swimming season a little.

I don't see much point in keeping the solar panels connected to the pool outside of this season, when the energy could (presumably) be put to better use. The house currently has a combi boiler (instant hot water) so no water cylinder, so I'm wondering what it would take to use the solar energy to preheat the water for central heating?

Or would I be better of installing a twin coil cylinder and just using it for domestic hot water?

Maybe a 1m x 2m array is too small to do anything significant, but as far as I can see there's no single place for a bigger array so it would mean having extra panels in more public places and connecting them in series. And the sun down hear is pretty powerful!

And what's the best way to switch between pool heating and DHW or C/H?

Sorry if these are dumb questions!

Rod

Hi Rod,

I think that will be too small an area for pool heating,

It may just be big enough to provide hot water for showering and domestic use.

you need to check with your boiler manufacture to see if it can accept pre heated water.

Ps good luck in your new home, I am in Spain too ( I use solar for hot water and it works well )

Cheers Tony

[Naptown]

The ET system will cost you a fortune to install to do anything appreciable to the pool, and if done improperly will self destruct fairly rapidly.
Your best bet would be a collector designed for pool heating.
If the pool sat in full sun you would need a collector area equal to about 50-60% of the surface area of the pool.
If it is fully shaded it will require 100% of the surface area. In between is proportional.
I don't know what is available there but we use Solar industries or Aquatherm collectors. They are all plastic so they don't self destruct from the pool chemicals.

[svi]

The ET system will cost you a fortune to install to do anything appreciable to the pool, and if done improperly will self destruct fairly rapidly.
Your best bet would be a collector designed for pool heating.
If the pool sat in full sun you would need a collector area equal to about 50-60% of the surface area of the pool.
If it is fully shaded it will require 100% of the surface area. In between is proportional.
I don't know what is available there but we use Solar industries or Aquatherm collectors. They are all plastic so they don't self destruct from the pool chemicals.

the design for solar swimming pool heating is usually for covering heat losses, it is required to use back (gas or electrical) for winter use

[russ]

You need to do a search for a local sales company for a pool heater. What you have laid out won't affect the temp really - nuch too little