Swimming Pools Warmed with Solar Hot Water

Fun in a swimming pool

Maybe you are lucky enough to have a home in an area where the sun shines constantly and the temperatures are warm enough to swim outside year round.  But even if that is just a dream (as it is for me) you can still have a swimming pool warmed with solar hot water!  Installation of solar collectors on the roof of a main building, or even a utility building, along with a heat pump to complete the system can result in warm water and a lower electric bill!

Do you think that it sounds too expensive and complex to integrate a solar energy complex to heat your swimming pool with solar hot water?  Well, think again!  Even in the cloudy, cool Pacific Northwest, there are plenty of examples of solar swimming pool heating to consider.

Because I have Type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes), I was especially excited to read about a summer camp in Oregon at which they heat the swimming pool with solar energy.  At the Gales Creek Camp near Banks, Oregon, diabetic kids that attend are over the moon about the swimming pool with its solar hot water system.  Each year, the camp is filled with 400 children diagnosed with juvenile diabetes who are looking for a “normal” camp experience without the worries of dealing with the disease.

The Gales Creek Camp used a propane heating system until just last year when the heater started failing and propane costs started rising.  The camp decided to install a solar thermal heating system to heat the pool with solar hot water. The camp contracted with Gen-Con to install six solar collectors on the roof of a utility building near the swimming pool.  Seven additional collectors were installed on a pergola, and then seven more were installed on a ground-mounted rack.  A mechanical room near all three installations houses a solar collector with a three-way direction value and sensor that control the flow of water through the collectors.

Get in the swim!

At the Gales Creek Camp, the solar system temperature is set to 85 degrees.  There is also a back-up electric pump, set to 81 degrees.  Since the solar hot water system was installed, the heat pump has never been used!  Even on cloudy, overcast days!  I sure wish they had a camp like this when I was a young girl!  If my kids had diabetes (thank goodness they don’t), they would be thrilled about the solar heating system for the swimming pool, as they are very interested in renewable energy projects.

Gales Creek Camp has already recovered the costs of the pergola and solar thermal system.  The solar hot water system was eligible for a state Business Energy Tax Credit for renewable energy.  Says Caretaker Casey Sheehy:

“We have enough sun out here, believe it or not, and it looks cool!”

Perhaps the coolest aspect of the solar hot water system at Gales Creek Camp is the “buzz” that the solar heated swimming pool has created.  Campers and parents alike are excited about the prospect of saving money and going green!  And, it has encouraged camp staff and counselors to go green in other ways, as well.  Now, the camp is recycling more, harvesting fresh, locally-grown produce, and composting waste.

Is a solar hot water-heated swimming pool for you?  If you have a pool, the answer is almost certainly yes!  Federal and state energy credits are available for solar hot water systems (as well as other renewable energy improvements).  Why wait?  Harness the energy of the sun now!  Get “in the swim” and replace your old, tired systems with solar energy.  This small start may spur you onto more green living – and I’m not talking about chlorinated hair!

Tags: solar energy, solar hot water, solar swimming pool