New Solar Pool Heating System

17 years ago

We just had a new system installed. I got two bids and took the one from a company installing Heliocol panels. The warranty was for 12 years and the cost was substantially below the other bid. We paid $3700 for the system installed. They put it up in a few hours, something a lot of DIYers could do themselves, but I didn't want to do that. It should heat our pool to swimmable temperatures for about 80 percent of the year, I'm told.

We live in Columbia SC and have excellent southern exposure. Our next door neighbors are building a pool and will go without any heat. The cost of a gas heater would be about ... $3700 + up to $300 a month to run. It seemed to make nothing but good sense to go solar. What amazes me is how rare it is in my area. We had to get an installer from 2 hours away.

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Comments (6)

solargary
17 years ago
Hi,
Good Job!

It is amazing that solar pool heaters are not used more. This is a quote that really drives it home for me from Home Power:

"Three gallons of oil refined and burned provides 400,000BTU ... Once. Three gallons of oil, made into a 4 by 12 foot solar collector, can provide over 10 million BTUs per year ... year after year"

Gary
bushleague
17 years ago
Don nice work. I am planning on the same idea what Company did the work for you? Thanks!
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Hi Measure Twice... not sure if I'm the PoolKing ( big grin ) but thanks if you are talking to me. GPM is 20 gallons ( that's 20 gallons per minute that it's rated at ) - I'm sure it's pushing that much as I am pushing a ton of water, I did some tests last year on how fast I could fill up a jug with the output and the test results were out of this world, - to give you an idea, the flow from that pro system comes out like a fireman's hose, it's that fast. Hi RatherBeGardening, - the size I have on that false roof I built is 16 feet x 10 feet.... there are 4 panels there ( Enersol brand ) - each panel consists of 4 strips each, I actually screwed up and there are only 15 strips there, and not 16 strips, so it's not a full 4 panels.... it should have been 40 sq feet per panel x 4 panels = total sq footage of 160 sq feet, but instead it's 150 sq feet.... - each strip that makes up a a panel is 1 foot wide x 10 feet long ( 10 sq feet of area ) Cost ? .... I paid almost $270 or so for each panel. Where did I order from ? The place is called Northwestwholesale.com , and they sell to the United States and Canada, info on the solar panels is here: http://www.northwestwholesale.com/pool_solar_panel.asp Solar Panels 10' long - 40 sq. ft. per box $242.42 (Canadian funds ) $204.24 - American funds. By the way, shipping is FREE ! , I forgot about that, so that's another great thing ! I spoke with Doug Charman but there are plenty of salesmen who will get back to ya. Each panel comes in a nice box, and if you are going to order any, they sell you one box that has the same panel in it, but it included stuff you need for installation, like a special key, straps, bolts and even a video ( VHS) . I didn't install mine as of yet on my roof so no need for any of the hardware like straps bolts etc.. The official site for Enersol solar panels is : http://www.enersol.com/home.html Btw, you'll see a picture of the box you get with the stuff included in the box like the video etc.... Mark Here is a link that might be useful: Enersol Solar Panels
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Hey thanks, Man that is a very cool and informative website, but a little overwhelming! I guess because its summer I should start with a Domestic Water Solar Heater. Does anyone on here have one on their house? What type do you recommend? Im leaning toward a flat glass enclosed collector with a pump to circulate the water. Daniel
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thank you for your response. I have had conversations this morning with National Grid (our gas supplier) as well as our oil company. It looks like the oil company will not be anywhere close to the price of the gas company. The gas company is subsidizing new equipment, they say on their website from AM. Standard and Burnham. When I called them they said only Burnham. They have low, medium and high efficiency. I would probably only consider the high because otherwise I will have to have my chimney relined, which consider how tall it is, I am thinking will be $4-5K. From what I understand these super high efficiency condensing units can be vented directly to the outside (unless I am mistaken). I think the tax credits will help. The only problem is that on the oil, the models that would qualify are in the $12K - $15K range which is far beyond my range. At this point, unless there is a compelling reason, gas conversion is looking like a no brainer. of the equipment that nat'l grid is subsidizing, I am thinking of the Alpine Condensing Boiler... will post another question on it, but if anyone has any information on this would love to hear about. The price on the market is in the $4K range and nat'l grid will charge only $1100 for it since it is an oil conversion. then I can also a tax credit or stimulus credit. I am feeling much better about all of this... this is the worst time for us to be having to outlay cash on a new heating system but looks like it won't be as devastating to our pocketbook as I initally thought. thanks again, and please more replies if anyone has any perinent info.
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All the black plastic collectors are about the same, Its the install and overall pressure in the system that determines life and longevity. shoot for 1-1 or better sqaure feet of pool to panel coverage and get a good controller. I have 12 aquatherm eco sun panels and In so california I can get temp rises near that of my master temp 400 on hot sunny days and its performance on overcast days is impressive. With the automation system feeding the solar output to the heater I can get staggering heating performance in the 800K btu range. Ill never have a pool without solar again. Uncle Dave
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loganlady
17 years ago
We did the same thing with Heliocol-West. They are the best company to deal with. Decided to use the heat here in southern Nevada to our advantage. Our pool temp got to 80 yesterday. Yahoo!!! We are also using it to heat our spa as well. Discovered the hard way that using propane is not the way to heat it. YIKES. Pricey. Now the propane co. is wondering why we aren't needing so much propane-LOL.

Beca
blackthorne
17 years ago
Hi
Has anyone had any experience with installing a pool solar heating system on a metal roof in South Florida?
doyledh
Original Author
17 years ago
The company that did the installation here in Columbia SC was Tablerock Technologies; they are located in upstate SC. See link below. Tone Nichols is the owner and installer. Just yesterday we got power to the pool equipment and Tone came down to set up the heating system. It is amazingly simple: a thermostat with a sensor drilled into the outake pipe and attached to a valve that diverts water to the panels on top of the roof. You can watch it turn. It also has cooling capacity, which essentially means running it at night when tempeartures outside drop. She advised that I would not need this but if we found it too warm in August she would come down and set it up.
It will take a few days to get the pool all balanced and clean, and warm, and I've paid my last bill for heating it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tablerock Technologies
dennissein_aol_com
16 years ago
I think solar pool heaters are a scam. I bought one for my home in Palm Desert, CA and it has had almost no effect on the water temp. This unit moves the pool water onto the roof and through panels that supposedly heat the water. It adds about 2-3 degrees of heat to the water, which in the winter means the water goes from 60 to 62 degrees, making the pool unusable in the winter. Basically it adds about 2 weeks per year of extra swimming time to a pool with no solar system. Really NOT worth the investment.

New Solar Pool Heating System

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