With a modest investment in a solar pool heater, you can warm the water in your swimming pool with free energy from the sun to and put an end to expensive gas, oil or electric pool heating bills. In addition to free energy, solar pool heaters have other attractive benefits that are good for pool owners and good for the environment. And here’s some more good news: Â solar pool heaters are also available in do-it-yourself systems that are as effective as professional installations, but cost significantly less.
Here are the top reasons to switch to solar heating your backyard pool:
1. Free Fuel
Not many things are free these days — least of all energy — so free fuel to heat your swimming pool is a huge plus! Using a solar pool heater to harness the sun’s energy provides the lowest annual operational costs of any other pool heating technology.
2. Extend the Swimming Season
A solar pool heater can double the length of your swim season by providing luxuriously warm water earlier in the springtime and well into the fall. In some parts of the country, a solar pool heater can mean year-round enjoyment. In hot climates, a solar pool heater can also be used to cool the pool during peak summer months by circulating the water through the solar collector panels at night.
3. Low (or No) Maintenance Costs
Because of their inexpensive parts and simple design (no moving parts and no corrosion), there is little ongoing maintenance for a solar pool heater other than draining the system for the winter (in cold climates) and repairing an occasional leak, which is easy to do. Solar pool heaters typically have a 5-year warranty, but usually last 10 to 15 years under normal conditions.
4. Good for the Environment
Conventional pool heaters consume a great deal of power, whereas a solar pool heater uses renewable energy from the sun that is readily-available and produces no harmful emissions.
5. Affordable Do-it-Yourself Sizes and Styles
As a money-saving alternative to a professional solar heater installation (which average $2,000 to $4,000), a DIY solar pool heater kit costs less than $300! Kits are available for above-ground and in-ground swimming pools. Solar pool heater manufacturer SmartPool offers two styles:
- Slotted SunHeater solar collector panels that are installed easily on a roof, rack, fence or on the ground and can be used to heat above- or in-ground pools.  A SunHeater solar pool heating system will raise the temperature of your pool water by up to 10°F (6°C) or more.
- Compact pool heating “Solar Arcs†for above-ground pools that install in-line with your current plumbing and take up less space than traditional panel systems.  One Solar Arc can raise the temperature of the pool water up to 5°F within two days of sun.
6. No Extra Equipment
Water is circulated through the solar pool heater’s collector panels or arcs and back to the pool by your pool’s pump, so there’s no need to buy extra water heating or circulating equipment.
7. Easy to Expand
If you replace your current pool with a larger one, your solar pool heating system can be expanded easily by adding additional collector panels or arcs, so it won’t ever be obsolete. With a do-it-yourself solar pool heater, the manufacturer’s “order guide†will tell you how many boxes of collector panels you will need based on the dimensions of your pool.
8. Short Payback Period
The cost of heating a pool with gas can run as high as several hundred dollars per month, making the payback period for a solar heater very short. In fact, a DIY solar pool heater will pay for itself in only one or two months! Solar pool heaters also last nearly twice as long as either gas or electric heaters.
Summary
Solar pool heaters benefit both pool owners and the environment.  They are a long lasting, low cost source of free energy and they’re non-polluting. And best of all, they add to the enjoyment of having a backyard pool by extending the swimming season and warming the water to delightfully comfortable temperatures.
