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Frequently Asked Questions
How does this differ from a solar pool cover?
Collectors add heat to the water.
A cover mainly stops heat leaving.
Evaporation is the loss a cover addresses.
The two are sized independently of each other.
Most pools benefit from having both.
Fitting one does not answer the other.
How much collector area is needed?
It is set against the pool surface area.
Volume is not the governing figure.
A larger ratio extends the season.
It raises achievable temperature rather than heat-up speed.
Shading and orientation shift the result significantly.
Assess the roof before assuming the ratio.
Will the existing pump cope?
Often not, and it must be checked.
Collectors add head to roof level.
A pump sized for the filter alone falls short.
Flow through the array drops as a result.
A booster pump is one answer.
Calculate the head before ordering the array.
What stops the array cooling the pool at night?
A diverter valve and its controller.
Water goes to the array only when collectors are warmer.
Otherwise the array radiates heat away.
A sensor sits on the collector and another on the return.
Failed sensors cause exactly this problem.
It is worth checking during commissioning.
What happens in a freezing climate?
The array must be able to empty.
Water left in collectors will split them.
Drain-back arrangements handle it automatically.
The pipework has to fall correctly for that.
Manual draining depends on somebody remembering.
Design it in rather than adding it later.