If you own a pool, or you’re thinking about installing one, it makes sense to find the most cost-effective ways possible to make the most out of your swimming experience. Swimming in chilly water is no fun, so if you want to be able to use your pool even during cooler temperatures this summer, investing in a gas or electric heater is one way to go.
But what should you do if you either can’t afford or don’t want to purchase an expensive heater that’s costly to run? There are some creative, low-cost alternative ways to heat your pool that you may not have considered before. In this series of articles, we’ll take a look at some of these unconventional pool-heating methods. Several of them involve heat loss prevention, while others actually involve naturally heating the water in your pool. After reading these ideas you’ll be equipped to spend less money heating your pool while still enjoying noticeably warmer water.
Why Do Pools Lose Heat in the First Place?
The first step to figuring out how to inexpensively heat your pool is understanding why your pool water gets cold. Obviously, the exterior temperature of the air is going to play a major factor in cooling the water inside your pool. There are some other factors that also contribute to making your pool water lose heat.
Windy Days Can Cause Your Pool to Lose a Significant Amount of Heat
Just like blowing on a piping hot bowl of soup tends to cool it off, windy weather can considerably cool down your pool water. Still, quiet pool water, on the other hand, tends to retain heat. On a calm, balmy summer day you’ll probably notice that your pool water stays pretty warm. That’s because less of the water’s surface area is being exposed to the air. On a windy day, however, your pool’s water surfaces get more and more exposed to the outside air each time the wind blows across the water.
This leads us to our first smart and cost-efficient way to heat your pool: adding a wind-blocking enclosure.
Wind-Blocking Pool Enclosures can Help Pool Water Stay Warmer
When you set up a barrier all the way around your pool, you can significantly cut down on the amount of wind that blows across the surface of your pool. You’ll also be blocking that wind from blowing on you and causing you to feel cold when you’re in the water. This is an especially recommended pool-heating method for people who live in areas of the country that are known for regularly breezy conditions and high wind gusts.
Another plus to building a wind-blocking pool enclosure is that it will help to keep dirt, dust, and debris from blowing into your pool. This, of course, should cut down on your need to clean and skim the pool. If you choose a design that’s not see through, your windscreen can also serve as a privacy fence.
You may be wondering how this method of retaining pool water heat could be considered cost-effective, since it would seem that installing a wind-blocking barrier all the way around your pool and deck area could be quite costly. In the long run, though, adding an enclosure could be cheaper than paying high pool heating bills month after month and year after year.
Depending on the material that you choose, a wind-blocking pool enclosure doesn’t have to be terribly expensive. You could choose to purchase a manufactured windscreen from a fencing or pool supply company, or, if you’re handy, you could figure out a way to construct one yourself. There are all sorts of Do-It-Yourself options online that are made with inexpensive materials such as PVC, corrugated metal, and wood fencing materials.
This is just one of the ways you can try to cut down on your monthly pool heating bills. The next article in this series will explore a couple of other options you could consider.
Read More About Pools
• How To Keep Your Pool Nice and Toasty This Winter!
• New Pool Designs & Technology for 2019
Lyon Financial
Since 1979 Lyon Financial has made the backyard resort dream come true for over 400,000 families across the U.S. Through our solid relationships with more than 3,000 pool contractors and our continued commitment to putting our clients first, we have built a reputation as the first choice in providing pool financing solutions. For more information, visit lyonfinancial.net or call (877) 754-5966 today.
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