Solar Covers

[rfamily]

I'm told there are different stlye of solar covers and some are more effective then others. An individual, I met the other day told me he purchased a white solar cover and found it to be alot more effective then a blue typical cover. Could someone help me understand is this possible. Is color or material specifications make a difference in effectivness of heat transfer?. Look forward to your thoughts

[Larry K.]

It's most likely the thickness of the cover rather than the color...

Yes, they do work (at least for me they do). The first cover we got was a thin blue one, and it lasted one and a half seasons, the second one is a much thicker clear one that is now on it's second season and seems to be holding up well.

We live outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, and the pool is in direct sun all day, so during the hot summer, I use the cover at night to help with evaporation (which is noticeably less when using the cover), and at this time of year I use the cover to keep the heat up to about 82 - 84, without using the cover at this time of year the water temp at night would drop to about 74, and then take to long to heat up during the day. So in my case the non blue one worked better.

[PaulR]

Any cover will reduce evaporation by about the same amount. Thicker ones will last longer, but they are heavier and so harder to get on and off. This is a tradeoff you will have to judge for yourself.

As for picking a color, I think the exact color doesn't matter a huge amount. Basic physics tells us dark or black will absorb more heat during the day, and also radiate (lose) more heat at night, than a light or white color. My experience is that if the pump is off, you see actual warming/cooling only in the top couple of inches in the water, so having the pump on or off probably makes more difference than the cover color.

Or, more simply: if you want to gain heat, have the pump on during the day and off at night. If you want to lose heat, have the pump off during the day and on at night.

Note that a cover will also reduce your chlorine consumption (less daily FC loss due to UV rays). Based on posts I've read over the last couple of years, I get the impression that an opaque cover will show this effect more than a clear or semi-transparent cover, regardless of color; but even my light blue semi-transparent cover helps a LOT in the summer.

--paulr