Do Solar Pool Covers Actually Work?

Swimming is fun, refreshing, and an excellent way to get some low-impact exercise into your day. However, Canada’s cold climate makes it difficult to enjoy this activity in backyard pools for more than a few months out of the year.

Solar pool covers make it easy for you to keep your pool’s water warm for longer. It may sound too good to be true, but they really do work! Using one will give you more swimming time, block debris from getting into your pool, and maybe even save you money.

How Do Solar Covers Work?

Solar pool covers work to heat your pool by preventing its water from evaporating over time. Normally, a pool exposed to sunlight slowly warms up, but as its temperature rises, some of its water begins to evaporate. When this water leaves the pool, it takes some of the pool’s heat with it.

A solar cover creates a plastic barrier between your pool’s water and the air, allowing you to trap the heat from the sun’s rays and greatly slow the evaporation process. This keeps your pool’s water warm and your water levels stable. Not only will you be able to swim comfortably in your pool for many more weeks, but you’ll also spend much less time and money refilling your pool and re-balancing the chemicals in the water.

Which Solar Cover Should You Choose?

If both clear and blue covers are available, it is usually best to choose a clear one.

Clear covers trap heat better than blue ones because they allow more of the sun’s rays to penetrate the cover and warm the water. Very dark blue covers are the exception to this rule, as their deeper colour attracts extra heat and makes them better at retaining that heat. Clear covers are also usually thicker than blue ones, which helps them last longer.

However, blue covers are generally more affordable than clear ones, and any solar cover is better than nothing at all. If you’re on a budget and don’t mind the slight losses in performance and durability, a blue cover will probably suit your needs just fine.

Tips for Using Your Solar Cover

• Cut your solar cover to match the size and shape of your pool as precisely as possible. This gives the heat fewer opportunities to escape.
• Make sure the cover’s bubbles are facing down when you use it. These air pockets are part of the mechanism it uses to trap heat underneath it.
• Don’t be afraid to use your cover well outside of the normal pool season – in many areas, you can use a solar cover to extend your swimming season from March or April all the way to October.
• Never swim with a solar cover still partially on your pool. The wind could blow the cover over the water and make it difficult for you to leave.

Extend Your Pool Season Today

Investing in a solar cover could allow you to get many additional weeks of use out of your pool, and their low cost and high utility only make them more appealing. Try one out for yourself this year and see for yourself how much it can improve your swimming experience.