Solar pool heating

The most economical method to heat your pool is with a solar pool heating system. The solar pool heaters supplied by SunTap Technologies are designed to effectively replace a standard pool heater fuelled by natural gas, propane, electricity, or other fuels that emit greenhouse gasses and cost hundreds of dollars in utility bills. Add two months to your pool season with free heat from the sun.

Be a responsible pool owner: never drain your pool into storm sewers. Click one of the links below to read a brochure from the City of London on how to properly drain your pool:

Drain your pool the right way

 

Solar panels are installed on the roof to collect solar energy
Piping runs from your existing pool pump to the solar panels
Cold pool water is pumped to the collectors to absorb solar energy
The cold pool water is heated by the solar panels
Warm, solar-heated pool water returns to the pool for an enjoyable, extended swimming season

 

Cost comparison of solar to natural gas and electricity

Fuel type Natural gas* Electricity* Solar
Approximate fuel cost, including taxes and additional charges (¢/kWh) 45 to 55 ¢/m³
(roughly 4.5 to 5.5 ¢/kWh)
10 to 13 ¢/kWh ¢/kWh
Approximate total cost, including cost of fuel and equipment over 25 years
(¢ or $/kWh)
$1.79/m³
(roughly 18 ¢/kWh)
23 ¢/kWh 1.5 to 2.3 ¢/kWh
Estimated lifetime of pool heater 5 to 10 years 5 to 15 years 25 years

* does not include cost of running of gas line or electricity to heater

Solar energy delivered based on tilt angle and orientation angle

The chart below shows the average amount of solar energy (in MWhth) delivered over the course of the swimming season for a 16’x32′ inground pool, at varying tilt and orientation angles. As you can see, an optimal angle is due south between 15° to 30° tilt, but moving to south-east or south-west results in only a 1-2% loss of annual energy and moving to east or west results in only a 4-6% loss; tilting up to 45° facing south results in only 3% loss of annual energy.

orientation of solar collectors
tilt angle West South-West South South-East East
24.4 24.4 24.4 24.4 24.4
15° 24.2 24.9 25.1 24.9 24.2
30° 23.5 24.7 25.1 24.7 23.5
45° 22.4 24.0 24.4 24.0 22.4
60° 21.0 22.7 22.6 22.7 21.0
75° 17.7 19.5 18.8 19.5 17.7
90° 12.9 14.2 12.3 14.2 12.9
solar energy numbers are displayed in MWhth
Assumptions:

  • 16’x32′ inground swimming pool
  • Typical meteorological data for London, Ontario
  • 240 square feet of solar collector area