Considerations About a DIY Solar Pool Heater
You are probably aware of the fact that heating a swimming pool is by no means a cheap undertaking. The average pool contains around 10,000 gallons of water and heating it to a comfortable temperature is going to cost quite a sum. The good news is that there is an alternative in the form of a DIY solar pool heater. They are not expensive to make, work well, and do not cost a lot to operate.
A solar pool heater does not differ much to any solar water heater with the main difference being that instead of a tank to hold the hot water until it is needed the pool circulates the water continuously. What you will need to do is change the design so that the water becomes heated as quickly as possible.
To heat the water as quickly as possible you will need to ensure that as much of the surface area of the water is exposed as possible. The more the surface area exposed to the sun the more energy it is going to absorb.
For this reason there are a variety of DIY solar pool heater designs available and all work following the same basic principle. Consider a garden hose for example. When left exposed to sunlight the water within the hose is warmed up. The idea is that the longer the hose the greater the quantity of water that will be heated.
The following DIY solar pool heater uses a pipe coil design which is both cost efficient and simple. It works in much the same way as the above garden hose example, if it were coiled up.
How to Select the Right Location for the DIY Solar Pool Heater
When it comes to choosing the right location for the solar pool heater you have two choices. If you live in the northern hemisphere you will need to make sure that it is facing the south so as to ensure that it gets the most amount of sunlight as it can. Failing that you should opt for either an east or west orientation. If you reside in the southern hemisphere you will want to orient it to the north.
Your first choice is to mount it on the ground and this is a good choice if you have the available space that is exposed to sufficient sunlight each day. Shade will obviously impact the efficacy of your solar pool heater. Mounting it on the ground is usually the easier option since it does not need as much piping.
The second choice is to mount it on the roof which, for people with less space, is a good choice. Since the solar power heater is then higher up it usually isn’t affected by shade or other obstructions.
How to build you DIY Solar Pool Heater
You might be surprised to learn that this really is not that difficult at all. You will find that 500 feet of 10mm black irrigation piping, a few valves, and interconnecting piping is all that you will need.
Once you have these items you need to coil the piping tightly around itself making sure that you keep it flat. To secure the coiling and keep it in place you might want to use a bit of hardware. You need to ensure that you will not have any difficulty accessing either end of the piping since the water will be routed through these and then in and out of the pool heater.
How to Install the DIY Solar Pool Heater
Again, this is not a difficult undertaking. Simply attach the solar pool heater in line with the pool pump. This will circulate the water for you. Add a T valve to the incoming water line and the outgoing water line to allow you to bypass your heater whenever you need to do so. Once that is done you can then route the piping to the heater and connect it.
Once everything is connected properly the sunlight will then warm up the water that is in the piping as it is pumped out of the pool and on through the heater. The water will then be pumped back into your pool and so help to heat up the water.
Something to think about regarding the DIY Solar Pool Heater
After all this there is one thing you will need to consider and that is the friction that is caused by the water as it moves through the piping. You will be able to use only a specific amount of piping prior to the friction overcoming the pool pump. When this happen the pump will not function properly when circulating the water.
Aside from that you will see that building your own DIY solar pool heater is really not difficult at all. It is a really affordable way of achieving a heated swimming pool and will also mean that you and your family can enjoy the pool for an extended time every year.
Best Way on How to Build a Solar Water Heater – DIY Solar Hot Water Heater
One of the biggest uses of gas, oil and electricity is the heating of water in our home, swimming pools, schools, offices, hospitals, and many others. Using a solar powered hot water heater system is a very efficient and simple way to grab energy from the sun and use it.
Knowing on how to build a solar water heater and making your own can be a great and inexpensive alternative to those commercial solar water heaters which costs upwards of $2,000. You can find all the equipments and materials you need for a lot less than what those commercial ones cost. Then having to DIY(do it yourself), you’re well on your way to the first of many free environmental friendly hot showers.
The instructions below were based on a must have guide for everyone planning to have their home environment friendly by using solar and wind power. For the supplies, you will need:
1. lumber
2. pegboard masonite
3. plastic foam insulation
4. sampling of copper items
5. Used aluminum storm windows can be used in place of expensive glass panels
6. old water heater will work for your storage tank
7. nails, relief valve, black plastic pipe, and fittings for connecting units
The Start of Construction
The first step is to build your hot box. This is a wood box covered with glass or in our case, a segment of the storm windows to catch the heat from the sun. Then use the copper collector sheet and water pipes to build a manifold inside the finished box. In here, the collected solar heat will warm the water.
Now connect the storage tank which is positioned above the collector box and manifold outlets. This will transfer the warm water up into the storage tank and sends the cooler water down to be warmed in the collector. Also check for leaks before you begin regular use. In case you find water escaping from any area, empty the hot water system completely before resolding that leaking point.
Finally, you can then apply black paint to the collector sheet and manifold and protect any visible wood with oil-based coating. Put the homemade solar powered water heater at a 45 degree angle and connect the water tank, and you are now ready to go.
Now you know on how to build a solar water heater system, and this will lead to savings of about of about two-thirds on previous hot water heating bills and is environmentally friendly.
Solar Pool Panels – DIY Solar Solution
You can use a solar pool panel to not only heat your pool, but to run all of the necessary electrical equipment needed to keep your pool in top working order. Solar pool heating can save you a lot of money, because the system is self sufficient and doesn’t draw from your home’s power supply. The system itself is pretty simple, and can be made yourself. With a little time, the right tools, and a complete kit, you can have your pool heater up and running in just a short amount of time.
The principle behind solar pool heating is pretty simple. The solar pool panel is different than a regular solar panel because instead of using photovoltaic cells to collect the sun’s energy and converting it into electrical power, these panels have a series of pipes running through them. The panel faces the sun, and the water that pumps through the pool’s filtration system is also pumped through the pipes in the panels. As it flows through, the energy from the sun heats up the water, and it is circulated back into the pool. There is of course some things you have to factor in when putting these panels in place.
First thing you need to take into consideration is the solar pool panel itself. How warm you water is going to be when using solar pool heating depends on how big the pool is. If you have a larger pool, more panels, or larger ones are going to be needed to sufficiently raise the ambient temperature. Then there is your pump and filter system. The faster the water pumps through the panels, the slower it is going to heat up, and vise versa.
There are some ways to get around this without putting in an extra solar panel. Your solar pool heating system can be improved by recirculating the water through the panels more than one time before going back into the actual pool. This can be done with the use of a thicker panel, with more piping. It can also be done by using a one way valve. When to water comes out of the panel, it is channeled back and around the outside of the panels and a one way valve opens and forces the water back through the panels. You can regulate how many times it does this before returning to the pool.
A solar pool panel can help in other ways. You have your solar pool heating panels, and you can also use solar electrical panels to power all of the electrical aspects of your pool as well, including the pumps, the filtration system, and any accessory lights you may have. You can the electrical panels as far away as you need too, but the heating panels should be as close to the pool as possible in order to get the pool the right temperature as quickly as possible.
There are many different kits for making a pool solar panel, for solar pool heating, as well as DIY kits for other solar projects. Most of them are fairly reasonably priced, and can be made from basic materials found at any hardware store.
