afish Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Has anyone ever insulated a fiberglass pool before installing it? I am thinking of the sprayed polyurethane foam insulation used in homes. I am in Michigan and with energy prices rising I thought it would help with heating cost of the pool. I also thought it would also help extend the swim season here. Do you think it would make much difference or am I wasting money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don pool Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 I don't know of anyone that has completely insulated a fiberglass pool with foam. The fiberglass pool shell itself is insulated much better than a concrete or vinyl liner pool. Generally it stays 5 to 8 degrees warmer than any other type of pool. I would compare the cost of insulating the pool to the cost of some type of solar heating. The insulation will only work to help maintain the water temperature of your pool and will not, in my opinion raise the the water temperature in any way. A good solar cover for your pool is the least expensive way to raise your water temperature and help maintain it. There are many sources for solar heating alternatives on the Internet these days, and the effectiveness of solar is obviously going to be determined by the percentage of southern exposure they will get. If you have the room in your yard you could build racks to hold the solar panels as opposed to installing them on your roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afish Posted March 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 I don't know of anyone that has completely insulated a fiberglass pool with foam. The fiberglass pool shell itself is insulated much better than a concrete or vinyl liner pool. Generally it stays 5 to 8 degrees warmer than any other type of pool. I would compare the cost of insulating the pool to the cost of some type of solar heating. The insulation will only work to help maintain the water temperature of your pool and will not, in my opinion raise the the water temperature in any way. A good solar cover for your pool is the least expensive way to raise your water temperature and help maintain it. There are many sources for solar heating alternatives on the Internet these days, and the effectiveness of solar is obviously going to be determined by the percentage of southern exposure they will get. If you have the room in your yard you could build racks to hold the solar panels as opposed to installing them on your roof. Thanks for your reply I do already have two solar heaters (2'x20' each) from the above ground pool that I got rid of last season that I plan on using for this pool. I can buy more if needed. The problem I was having with the above ground is overnight I would lose about 8 degrees. Then it would take until 2 or 3 o'clock to reach the same point from the day before. So I was thinking I would buy a gas heater to help supplement the solar heaters but would prefer not to. The pool I am getting isn't huge 12x24 so if I could maintain at least 85 degrees it would please the wife. Is there a limit on how many solar heaters you can put on your pump before it starts causing any issues. Space is not an issue 5.5 acres with good southern exposure. The problem is we have a lot of overcast days in Michigan. Now that I think about it maybe it would be easier if I just moved to Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don pool Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 You didn't say if you were using a solar cover or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afish Posted March 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 yes I will be using a solar cover. I had one on the above ground as well and still lost about 8 degrees every night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluhorizan Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 Hi: I've asked myself the same question as you are regarding insulation of the pool shell. The biggest heat loss is through surface evaporation. A pool cover reduces that significantly. However insulation of the pool shell will also substantially reduce heat loss. Consider that the temperature of the soil surrounding the pool varies from 30 degrees in the winter to 60 degrees in the summer (5 feet below grade) and you are trying to maintain a water temperature of 85 degrees, there will be a significant gradient resulting in ongoing heat loss. The R value of concrete is essentially zero and a fiberglass shell is slightly higher. Adding 2 to 4 inches of spray on foam or rigid polystyrene insulation will dramatically increase the R value and markedly reduce heat loss from the pool. This will reduce energy heating costs noticeably. The cost to do this will probably be in the $1000 to $2000 range. I think its worth pursuing. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyefly Posted October 15, 2013 Report Share Posted October 15, 2013 Could the spray foam be used as the backfill for the sides of the pool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insulated Posted October 2, 2022 Report Share Posted October 2, 2022 On 3/19/2008 at 10:31 AM, afish said: Has anyone ever insulated a fiberglass pool before installing it? I am thinking of the sprayed polyurethane foam insulation used in homes. I am in Michigan and with energy prices rising I thought it would help with heating cost of the pool. I also thought it would also help extend the swim season here. Do you think it would make much difference or am I wasting money? I think it’s a great idea! Most heat is lost to the ground for pools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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