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A Guide to Solar Swimming Pool Covers
Thinking of investing in a solar swimming pool cover? Thanks to their great value for money and many potential benefits, solar covers are becoming increasingly popular options for pool owners looking to maintain the temperature of their water and reduce heating costs.
Here’s everything you need to know about these useful pieces of kit, along with some common FAQs.
Solar pool covers are relatively budget swimming pool coverings that specialise in heat retention and solar gains. They may also be referred to as bubble covers due to the bubble design that makes up their surface.
Most solar covers resemble a giant sheet of bubble wrap. The bubbles consist of air pockets that capture and trap the sun’s heat like a greenhouse. The surface of the cover can then transfer heat into the water, conducting or transmitting it depending on the type of solar cover.
If the conditions are right, a solar cover can help increase pool water temperature by up to 8°C.
Alongside the solar gains properties, the bubble structure of solar covers also helps to retain heat, acting as an insulating layer and preventing evaporation.
Using a good solar cover, like a GeoBubble pool cover, during the swimming season can offer several benefits.
Evaporation has a cooling effect, so mitigating this process is crucial when it comes to maintaining your swimming pool water temperature.
Approximately 32,000 litres of water per year are lost due to evaporation. In just one average-sized pool (4 x 8m), that’s around 400 baths. This figure is even higher for windier and hotter environments. Adding a swimming cover to your pool could reduce evaporation by up to about 98%!
Research has shown that, with the right measures, chemical consumption could be reduced by up to 30% (up to 5kg of chlorine), which helps reduce the need to rebalance your water as often.
Also, due to a diminished reliance on your pool’s heating system, energy consumption could be reduced by up to 70%. Using a solar pool cover with a modern heat pump could save up to 7000kWh of electricity per year.
Insects, dirt, bird droppings, leaves, and other kinds of debris aren't just unpleasant to look at and swim in but also provide the perfect conditions for bacteria growth.
With a cover, you drastically reduce the chances of contaminants getting in the water, greatly improving the feel and look of your pool while lessening the need for additional cleaning.
While these covers can be greatly beneficial, there are some circumstances where other types of swimming pool covers will excel further.
The most important thing to note is that solar covers are not designed to support the weight of any people or animals that may walk across. If people or animals do stand on the cover, it can cause damage to the cover itself and potentially harm the individual – a protective fence is often recommended if you are worried about safety.
If a perimeter fence isn’t right for your space, it may be better to get a robust safety pool cover.
With the right conditions, yes, solar covers can heat your pool water by several degrees. Exactly how much they can heat up your pool via the sun will depend on a couple of things:
To ensure you have an enjoyable swim, your pool will need a consistent and reliable heat source. Despite offering some solar gains, solar covers will not raise the temperature to sufficient levels completely on their own.
It’s often most effective to use your solar cover in tandem with a swimming pool heat pump. Heat pumps offer one of the most cost-effective and eco-friendly ways to heat your pool, helping you achieve the desired water temperature while consuming less energy. A solar pool heater is another great option and an additional source of heat within your system.
Using a solar cover that prioritises heat retention ensures your heating system is even more effective and wastes as little energy as possible.
The colour of a solar cover indicates its properties and what it can do for you. Transparent covers are better at transmitting UV rays and harnessing them to heat up the water. They can, however, have the downfall of offering less protection from harmful rays that will degrade your chemicals.
So, whether clear solar covers are ‘better’ really comes down to your requirements. If your top priority is a cover that provides maximum solar gains, then a more transparent cover may be right for you.
You can find out more about the different types of solar covers and their abilities in our solar covers buying guide.
The most common thicknesses for solar covers in the UK are between 400M and 600M. Thicknesses around this range help ensure cover can both transmit and retain heat.
Note that ‘M’ stands for micron and is a measurement of different covers’ thicknesses.
When installing your cover, you should place it with the bubbles facing down. It’s the air trapped in these bubbles that is heated by the sun, so you want to make sure the heat can be more effectively transferred directly into the water.
It is fine to leave your cover on your pool while the pump is running. A properly-secured solar cover will not affect your pool pump’s ability to circulate the water underneath!
Solar covers aren't really designed to be used all year round, especially in UK weather. As it starts getting colder and you’re getting ready to close your pool down, we recommend swapping your solar cover for a purpose-made winter cover.
Winter pool covers are designed to be more durable, holding up against less hospitable conditions.
Carefully store your solar cover away during winter so it’s still in good condition when spring rolls around again.
We stock various types of solar covers, allowing you to find the perfect product to suit your needs.
For more options and information about our other products, see our full range of solar pool covers and accessories.
Ultimately, we would always recommend investing in a good quality swimming pool cover to protect your pool and reduce the need for additional maintenance. Solar pool covers are the ideal option for summer, offering the brilliant benefits of helping reduce your energy consumption and heating bill.
If you haven't yet tried a solar pool cover with your pool setup, we think it’s certainly worth purchasing one!
If you’re interested in buying a solar cover, head over to our solar pool cover calculator, which makes sizing your new cover easy and convenient.
