In our line of business, our incoming enquiries are often very seasonal. Obviously, going back a few weeks ago, they all seemed to be indoor heating related. Either people needed their heating systems fixed or they were looking to get heating installed – as quickly as possible! How quickly things can change. Suddenly, with a bit of sunshine, it’s pool heating and covers that seem to be on people’s minds.
We install all types of heating systems for pools but a recurring question that’s been raised recently is whether they can get their pools heated from solar panels. The answer is that you can use solar as part of a heating system but unless you invest a lot of money in a lot of big panels, you cannot rely on solar only to heat your pool, especially in winter.
However, what solar heating can do (on its own) is extend your swimming season so you can start swimming earlier in the year and finish later in the year. What’s more, if you have a heat pump as well, then you could have a heated pool all year round and solar panels will help to substantially reduce your bills.
We also get asked a lot about the grants available for solar, and whilst we are one of only a few companies that can get the huge subsidies available from the government for solar heating, unfortunately it only applies to your homes, not your pools.
Of course there is no point in getting pool heating unless you get a pool cover as well (assuming it’s an outdoor pool) to help retain the heat, and there are many different types of pool cover but that’s a subject for another time.
After this awful winter, it’s just great that people are thinking about getting in their pools again….even if they do need their pools to be heated first!