Make A Homemade Pool Heater

Solar energy offers a great opportunity for heating your swimming pool for a very negligible recurring expense. The arrangement enables you to enjoy an extended swimming season as it keeps you pool warmer during cold evenings without burning a hole in your pocket. It’s almost free.

Swimming pool solar heating systems are able to maintain the temperature of pool water to around 80-85 degrees in moderate climates on a regular day to day basis.

Inclusion of a swimming pool solar heater is a good value addition feature for you home.



The price of a readymade solar water heating system could be anywhere between two to four thousand dollars. It largely depends upon the size of the collectors plus charges of installation. On the other hand, if you make it as a DIY project, a pool of an average size inclusive off all materials and professional guidance should cost you around $200 only.


Depending upon the duration and direction of sunrays at the place of installation, it’s possible to design a solar heating system that need not have any moving components like a circulating pump. Solar pool heaters are connected to the existing filtration circuit of your pool. During the day, the filter continues to operate and the pool water is circulated via the collectors and returned back to the pool.

In most of the cases solar system is installed at the roof-top and the collecting panels are positioned in such a manner as to collect maximum of sunlight. We know that the sun is the hottest at midday, so the collectors should face the sun at that time to collect maximum heat and be tilted to your latitude by minus ten to fifteen degrees.
Various factors determine the area of solar collectors. In any case it will not be less than fifty percent of the pool area. Depending upon the location of your pool, it may go up to 75% of the pool area if the collectors have to be laid flat or are facing west. Depending upon circumstances and site conditions, the collectors’ area may equal that of pool area. Sites which are shaded most of the day or face strong winds would naturally require larger collectors. As collectors consume a lot of space, it is often desirable to mount them on a ground frame or a suitable fence.


The following factors should definitely to be considered when installing a solar pool heating arrangement:
• Weather and duration for which sunlight would be available.
• Codes for building and safety.
• Area/Volume of the pool.
• Duration of the swimming season.
• Desired level of pool temperature.
• Efficiency of Solar collector.

Keeping the above diversified nature of factors in mind, it would be better to seek the help of a professional for designing a heating system for your pool.

You do not need any special skills for assembly and fitting of the heating system and should be able to do it on your own. All the hardware that you need is easily available at most of the hardware stores or garden shops. Nevertheless, it is helpful to seek professional help for getting done a first class job. All the needed materials and the expert guidance including the plans and instructions shall cost you below $200. That should be inviting enough to go ahead with the project.