How Do Solar Panels That Heat Swimming Pools Work?

Swimming pools in cooler climates can be heated with solar panels.

Swimming pool owners in cool climates and others who like to swim outdoors for more months out of the year can heat the pool water using a heater. There are many heating options, but one of the most energy efficient, in this era of sustainability, is the swimming pool hot water solar collector. The technology is extremely energy efficient, requiring almost no power to run, and the solar collector can heat your pool for years because of the durability of the technology.

Solar Collector

The solar collector is a grid of tubes through which water circulates collecting the heat from the sun that is transferred from the solar collector surface oriented toward the sun. The collector is connected to a circuit of pipes and tanks that circulates hot water to the pool and cooler water from the pool.

Pump

The pump is located near the water intake from the pool, and the machine pushes the water through a filter, the solar collector, and ultimately the supply pipes to the pool. The pump creates a form of heat pump, transferring heat energy from one medium to another through water circulation.

Supply

The heated water supply extends from the solar collector outflow, through a series of valves, to an optional auxiliary heater for additional heating, and ultimately to the pool water. The heated water travels through the supply, past an outlet tee that is used by a pump to bypass the solar collector when the water is warm.

Pool

The water in the pool is effectively a solar collector, also. The pool water collects energy from the sun, and the heated water naturally rises, forcing the colder water down toward the bottom of the pool. The natural heating process can be used to augment the circuit of water through the solar collecting system. The water is collected, heated, and returned to the pool using the physics of convection and the distribution of heat, which creates a propelling force.

Return

The water from the pool returns through the return run, through the pump and filter, through a series of valves used to bypass or augment the flow of water through the solar collector, and finally to the inlet line of the solar collector where the water is once again heated.

References

• "Sun, Wind, and Light"; Brown, G.Z.; 2001