Use A Pool Cover To Save Energy And Water
An increasing number of people are recognising the health and fitness benefits of owning their own swimming pools. But what can you do, as a pool owner, to minimise the negative effects upon the environment?
Swimming pools use masses of water which needs to be treated to keep it germ free, and heated to make it usable (especially outdoors in the U.K.) I’ll be considering pool heating and water treatment options in future posts but, for now, I want to consider conservation. Conserving the heat stored in the pool water, conserving the water in the pool and the treatment chemicals in that water.
The heat in your pool water will be lost due to evaporation, convection and radiation. The water itself will be lost due to evaporation and will take with it some of the treatment added to keep it clean. The actual figures will depend upon many factors including the surface area of the pool, whether indoor or outdoor and, if outdoor, the weather conditions play a significant part. This all adds up to some significant losses that can be minimised by using a good quality, well fitted swimming pool cover. For example, outdoor pools can lose up to 10kwh per square metre and an indoor pool can lose up to 4kwh per square metre.
A good pool cover can provide up to 75% reduction in heat loss and many can actually make a significant contribution to the swimming pool heating by capturing heat from the suns rays and transfering this energy to the pool water.
Of course not all pool covers are made the same. Materials and dimensions vary and these factors influence the pool cover’s insulating capabilities. Thicker pool cover material will tend to offer higher insulating properties, typical thicknesses are between 4mm and 6mm. Covers are often made from a tough, PVC coated polyester fibre that contains ultra-violet light inhibitors and is resistant to micro-biological attack. The material may be coated with silver or gold allowing the suns heat rays to enter the pool water and then reflecting the heat back into the water providing more heat retention and solar heating than standard, non-coated pool covers.
An important aspect of pool cover installation that can be overlooked is how easy it is to cover the pool at the end of a swim session. A pool cover towing kit or reel system makes it easy for anybody to quickly re-cover the pool to conserve heat and water, keep the pool debris free and minimise the negative impact upon the environment.
If you own a swimming pool a good quality, effective pool cover is essential. It will save on heating costs, reduce water loss and therefore reduce water costs and can potentially make a significant positive contribution to your pool water temperature.
Written by Hybrid on April 2nd, 2008 with
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#1. May 28th, 2008, at 9:53 AM.
I have get a chance of knowing details about pool cover. Nice post.