Barilla Solar | Swimming Pool Systems

Swimming Pools are an ideal application for the use of Solar Thermal Heating. As your pool will be typically used in the summer, the power that can be obtained from the sun's radiation is at it's maximum.

Typically swimming pools are expensive to heat due to the vast volumes of water involved and the latent heat properties of water. Once your pool is up to temperature you can switch off your boiler and rely on the solar collectors to maintain the water temperature in your pool.

Sunlight is absorbed by the absorber coating within the vacuum tubes. This coating transfers heat to a heat pipe. Heat is carried to the tip (condenser) and then to the solar fluid. This is circulated through insulated pipes and subsequently released via a swimming pool heat exchanger or a coil within a hot water cylinder.

There are three main requirements to get the best performance from your solar thermal investment:

• A large unshaded southerly facing pitched roof or open area on which to mount your collectors
• A nearby pool house or shed with an electricity supply to operate the solar pump station and controller
• The use of a cover when your pool is not in use to prevent heat loss through evaporation

Whether you are heating a small jacuzzi or a large pool the type of equipment you require is the same, it is just it's size and capacity that will vary with each installation. Typically a pool or jacuzzi system will consist of:

• An array of solar collectors made up of a varying amount of evacuated heat pipes
• A heat exchanger positioned in line with your pool circulation pump to transfer the heat from the fluid in the solar circuit to the water in your pool
• An integrated solar pump station and electronic controller that regulates the output from your solar thermal system
• An expansion vessel to prevent overheating of the system

For a 10m x 5m outdoor pool the system can pay for itself, in terms of heating costs saved, in as little as three years.

Although this will depend entirely upon the size and location of your pool and any specific requirements that may increase the cost of your installation or degrade it's performance.

Yes, this will further reduce the payback time on the system. As soon as the collectors have heated your hot water twin-coil cyliner an automatic valve will divert the heat to your swimming pool heat exchanger. Ideally you will have a relatively short-run between your solar collector array, your domestic hot water cylinder and the swimming pool heat exchanger.

No, but we can often recommend an installer in your area that will be both competent and competitive on price. It is entirely your decision as to whether you buy the equipment directly from us or whether you specify it to your installer and then negotiate an overall "installed system price".