Heated pool = extended usage: Stop right there!
This is a very good opportunity to throw your money away.
Why? Because there are lots of companies offering you a quick fix, not a real solution.
Heated pool For instance, you could buy a swimming pool water heating system. Which will work at a price depending upon the size of your pool and the output of the heater.
You may think that going Solar is the answer. What about thermally insulated pool covers or even thermally insulated swimming pools. Indoor pools may be warmer but are they ?
Lets look at some basics.
A, 5 meter wide by 10 meter long swimming pool with a shallow end and a deep end will have a water capacity of around +/- 75 M3 (cubic meters of water or 75 tons of water) which is why they take so long to heat up with only sun light as a heating source. Make sure your heater will cope with at least this amount of water. Running the heater flat out is never a good idea.
Other factors play a major part in cooling your swimming pool water such as the ambient air temperature.
Then you have the wind chill /evaporation. As the water near the surface of the swimming pool is warmest it is this which evaporates. If the weather is warm and windy you can lose visible amounts of water (your warmest water) each day.
The answer is to fit a thermal cover which you remove, normally onto a large roller (or electrically if you have just won the euro millions) before swimming. This will keep the pool water hotter and reduce evaporation.
Where does the majority of the heat that your heater and the sun put into you pool disappear to ? Answer – the surrounding ground and pool structure. In fact this is the most misunderstood and ignored area of pool heating.
Our advice is – If you are going to build a swimming pool. Consider building an insulated pool. Even without any external heat source other than the sun. The pool will be warmer and more efficient to heat. The addition of a thermal cover will extend your enjoyment further.
