The best pools

Pools should provide comfort with small costs. To get the greatest energy savings use pool covers, reduce filtration time, use a larger filter, bet on a convenient design of the pipe system and prefer an energy-efficient variable-speed pump. Also bet on solar pool heating for an extended swimming season and more comfort with minimal costs.

See on these issues:
Energy Efficient Pools
Energy Efficient Pool Covers
Energy Efficient Pool Pumps

The best pool covers and reels

There isn’t a best pool cover or reel. All depends on your goals. If you want a cheap solution to keep the pool water warmer, an inexpensive solar pool cover is enough. Other types of pool covers are often made on demand, and you should contact manufacturers for information and assistance. For lists of pool cover manufacturers, see: RSPEC: Solar pool cover manufacturers.

Best pool Calculators and software

There are many online pool calculators and software to assess the size of your solar pool heating system, or to assess costs and heating bills. But most are of little interest and redundant. In fact, you may just need to know some basic rules. See: Swimming Pool Panels.

But there are some exceptions, namely the software developed by the U.S. Department of Energy, called Energy Smart Pools. This free program is designed to give you an analysis of your current pool energy consumption and the savings you may realize by implementing some modifications to it.

The FSEC has also a good page on the Economics & Size of solar pool heating systems. That's not a calculator or software, and involves the Florida's climate zones, but it may help.

Also for calculators and information on swimming pool heating systems, see the links at the end of the page of Water Heating EERE Energy Savers.

For online calculators involving solar heating systems, including solar heating pool software, see: Best of Solar

best solar heating pool installation tips

For good and basic tips on energy efficiency for pools, see the DOE governmental PDF: Conserving Energy and Heating Your Pool.

For installation tips on solar pool heating systems, see: FSEC Pool installation. It presents the installation steps involving the collectors, the controller and sensors, various valves, and the pool cover.

Best swimming pool fact sheets and technical information

RSPEC Fact Sheets are excellent introductions to Outdoor Pools, Indoor Pools, Pool Covers, Solar Pool Heating, High Efficient Gas Pool Heaters and Heat Pump Pool Heaters. To see them, click here.

For technical swimming pool material see Pool Help; for links see The journal of Pool Heating and SPA Industry.

finding the best pool professionals

Professional Pool and SPA associations can help you find pool service professionals and pool builders near your home.

USA: APSP (The Association of Pool and SPA Professionals).
UK: BSPF (British Swimming Pool Federation)
UE: EUSA (European Union of Swimming Pool and SPA Association)
Australia: SPASA (Swimming Pool & SPA Association)

Thermal panel manufacturers can help find solar pool heating installers. They can give you addresses and names of certified solar professionals in your region... Just contact them or take a look at their sites. See Next Section.

Solar Pool Heating manufacturers

Aquaterm, Heliodyne, FAFCO, Harter Industries or SolarRoofs are well known solar pool heating manufacturers. They can help you find solar heating systems installers.

For listings of manufacturers and approved solar systems and collectors for pool heating, see:

RSPEC: Solar pool heating manufacturers
FSEC: Approved solar systems for pool heating and their manufacturers
FSEC: Certified solar pool heating collectors and their manufacturers

Best diy solar pool heating projects

It's not difficult to implement a solar pool heating system. There isn't exactly solar pool kits ready to be plugged, but for very basic and small pool projects (up-ground pool and small pools) you may buy a small solar thermal kit or a set of solar panels and integrate it in an existing pool system... It's not difficult for informed and skilled DIY.

But the big question is if it is worthy... Though easy the integration demands some know-how and experience to work properly and efficiently. And there are tested and standardized alternatives to get it done properly...

For an installation «guide» of solar pool heating systems, see: Installing a Pool Heating System, FSEC

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