Nothing is better than jumping into a backyard swimming pool filled with cool water on a hot summer day. Millions of people around the country have pools, which are great for family enjoyment and even entertainment. While swimming pools are fun and relaxing, they can also be expensive. Because the amount of energy used to operate a swimming pool and the cost so high, companies have developed a number of ways to reduce energy consumption while also lowering the financial responsibility.
One of the most innovative energy and cost-saving solutions is with the newly designed swimming pool covers now on the market. Some of these are so well-designed that the amount of energy use reduced and money saved is significant. The bottom line is that swimming pools waste energy in a number of ways. For instance, evaporation is one of the biggest culprits. Look at evaporation this way – to increase pool water by a single degree takes about one BTU whereas each pound of pool water of 80 degrees that evaporations requires 1,048 BTU. With this, you can see how beneficial the right pool cover would be.
While energy loss associated with swimming pools specific to evaporation is about 70%, approximately 20% energy is lost from radiation to the sky and 10% to the ground. Of course, the exact amount of energy loss would depend on a number of factors to include the temperature of the pool, wind speed on the water’s surface, air temperature, and even humidity. Although using one of the innovative pool covers would be the best way to reduce energy loss and save money, if you live in a windy city, then even planting trees as wind breaks would be highly beneficial.
One of the biggest mistakes that some homeowners with pools make is using a simple tarp or sheet of plastic as a covering. While this helps keep dirt, debris, and bugs out of the water, it does little to save energy. Instead, a pool cover made from UV-stabilized polyethylene, vinyl, or polypropylene would make all the difference. In fact, you could also purchase an opaque or dark-colored swimming pool cover to save even more.
However, the best solution by far is the bubble swimming pool cover, which works as solar power. These covers resemble bubble wrap used for shipping although these pool covers are much thicker and they are designed with a UV inhibitor. Now, if you use the sun to help heat the pool, you could still use a swimming pool cover that would help stop water evaporation by as much as 40% while still creating a warm pool to enjoy.
In addition to the energy saving benefits, many of the innovative pool covers now being made offer other advantages to include:
• Reduces the amount of makeup water needed up to 50% helping conserve water
• Lowers chemical consumption up to 60%
• Makes cleaning easier and reduces time required to remove dirt and debris
• Helps reflect the sun’s heat away from the swimming pool
• Lowers or stops the growth of algae
• Lowers pump time as much as 50%
Some of the top swimming pool covers are so well made they can actually cost water evaporation by 98% and come with a full five-year warranty. For instance, the most popular brand is called Cool Guard, which is a unique blanket type of swimming pool cover so well made that it works perfectly for saving energy and money in residential and commercial situations.
