Solar Energy Systems for Pools

If you have a pool, you know how much heating it can crank up your utility bill. Solar energy systems for pools offer an alternative method that will not devastate your bank account.

Solar Energy Systems for Pools

When most people think of solar energy systems, they think of the large crystalline structures that are meant to collect a lot of solar energy in order to convert it into solar power. However, there are other uses for solar energy systems. One of the more ingenious uses for this technology is the use of solar energy systems for heating pools. By using solar power to heat your swimming pool, you can be sure that your morning swim will always be nice, comfortable and cheap.

Everyone has to heat their pool unless they are living in a tropical climate where the temperature doesn’t drop at night. Some people choose to purchase a pool cover, but these only work to limit heat loss versus actually heating up the water. Gas heaters work well, but the operating cost of a gas heater can really add up. A low initial cost can draw pool owners to gas heaters, but the charges over the life of the use of the pool can be appalling.

Using solar energy systems for heating pools, however, can solve all of the problems of the above methods. Usually, solar energy systems are installed on the roof of your house, where much sunlight hits. These solar energy systems collect heat, which is transmitted to water stored in hoses behind the solar collectors. This warms the water, which is then circulated through the pool. This method of heating a swimming pool does cost more initially than any other heating system, but the solar collectors and other accessories pay for themselves within a few years. If you plan to live in the home for some time, the cost will be a fraction of any other heating method. If you plan to sell the house in the near future, the solar energy systems will add to the value of the house since they are considered energy savers over time.

The use of solar energy systems for heating pools is a time tested strategy. If you live in an area where lots of homes have pools, you should take a walk around the neighborhood. You will notice lots of homes with pools have solar energy systems. The only downside to this approach is the government does not offer any financial incentives for heating your pool with solar. Given the utility savings, it really doesn’t matter. It is still a no brainer to use solar energy systems for heating pools.

Solar energy systems are a great choice for heating your swimming pool. As well as being the most cost effective heating system, solar energy systems are the most eco-friendly as well. Choosing solar energy for your swimming pool heating means that everyone wins!

Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy

Solar energy can be used and is used for electricity, central heating, hot water, cooking, for producing salt and even for desalination. Solar energy comes from the sun’s rays. Solar energy is known to be very environmentally friendly. However, when the sun rays enter the earth’s atmosphere it is quite dilute.

Although solar energy is known to be very environmentally friendly it doesn’t only has advantages but also some disadvantages. Let’s discuss some advantages and disadvantages of solar energy.

Let’s start with the main advantage of solar energy. Solar energy is clean. To produce electricity or heat with solar energy you only need the sun rays. There is no need to use fossil fuel in combination with sun rays to produce electricity or heat. You just need a solar energy collector or solar power panels in order to collect solar energy.

Solar energy is cheaper than electric heating. That is another big advantage of solar energy. By just using solar energy you can save a lot of money on heaters. In return you will get lower electric bills and it also means that you don’t have to maintain heaters.

If you live in a remote area where there are no power-lines solar energy can be the solution. There are remote areas where power companies have no means to access your home. Solar energy is a great alternative because it provides you with anything from heating water, electricity, and even cooking.

Another great use of solar energy is for desalination in areas where fresh, drinkable water is scarce. Solar energy evaporates brine and leaves the salt crystals in the bottom of the basin. The water in turn condenses back in another basin where it is now drinkable.

Although all of the above is very useful solar energy also has some disadvantages. These disadvantages also need to be discussed to paint a better overall picture.

The main disadvantage of solar energy is that it’s dilute. This means you have to have a lot of solar collectors installed around your house. Solar energy may be very cheap but the solar collectors are relatively expensive and require regular maintenance in order to work properly and efficiently. If you decide to use solar energy you need to calculate the return on investment in order to know if the investment will be worth it.

One big disadvantage is that you need the sun rays to make use of solar energy. If you are situated in a part of this beautiful planet where there is not much sun light then this could be a problem. In other areas, the sun rays are almost always covered in clouds making solar energy collectors less efficient. You should first know if the sunshine in your area is abundant for the most part of the year. Of course if you live in desert areas like in Arizona or Mexico the sun produces a lot of sunshine for the most part of the year and is ideal for solar energy collecting.

Lastly the sun only shines during the day. Therefore if you need electricity or hot water during the night, like many of us do, it can be a problem. You will need a backup system like the ‘old’ utility grid or you will need to store the electricity for later use. There are battery systems that can store solar energy for later use.

Solar energy is very clean and an alternative to conventional heating and electrical systems. Although this is true it is also good to mention the disadvantages of solar energy. If you are considering using solar energy you must read this first to make a balanced decision….

5 Great Reasons To Harness Solar Power

Very simply put, ‘Solar energy’ is energy that is derived from the sun. Our sun is an abundant source of energy; it gives of heat and light. The sun’s been revered by several cultures of the past and even by a few cultures still present today. The ancient Egyptians even worshiped the sun as a God.

All said and done, it was not misplaced respect; the sun certainly is an abundant and limitless source of power, at least for several generations to come; the merits for using its solar energy are numerous.

It’s free

Every morning with each dawn, the solar energy released by the sun comes filtered through our atmosphere providing light and helping to radiate heat. This has been happening for millions of years yet it is only recently that we have begun to capitalize on this abundant source of almost infinite power.

In the past the Greeks and the Egyptians have been known to harness the power of the sun to heat whatever they wished to by concentrating its radiation. 

It’s non-polluting

The energy from the sun is clean and free of any pollutants; unlike various sources of energy present today like petroleum or organic fuels that leave back residues and often leave back harmful gases when utilized to create energy.

Extremely reliable

The sun has been burning for roughly four and a half billion years now and is likely to burn on for another four to five billion years to come. That’s definitely more than our lifetimes and certainly more than several generations of the future. Every morning it promptly shows up and vanishes for the evening while it lights up another portion of the globe.

The saying “as sure as day” did not come about for nothing; assuming the sun is shining brightly, depending on which part of the globe you are you can harness the energy of the sun to either store it away or utilize its energy in a different way.

Limitless

There is no restriction on how much energy we can use from the sun. Apparently, the amount of energy that comes from the sun every few minutes if successfully harnessed can power the entire United States of America for a whole year. If we were only able to harness the immense energy of the sun we would be able to solve all the worlds’ energy problems.

Why

Ever wonder why no one thought about this earlier? How come if there’s so much energy just lying around, we simply cannot seem to efficiently harness it? How it that so much of the sun energy seems to go totally unnoticed and is ultimately wasted?

Well one of the reasons that this wonderful power reserve is generally wasted is the fact that the sunlight that we actually receive is so thinly dissipated across the earth to be able to contribute substantially enough if we try to harness it.
For us to be able to actually harness the power of the sun we have to be able to manipulate, focus and store the sun's energy. While this may seem simple it is easier said than done; So far we have only managed to develop three partially successful means of collecting solar energy.

The Reflection Method – Mirrors / Parabola

The reflection method is based on the concentration of the sun’s rays through a single or a set of mirrors onto one point and then utilizing the concentrated heat energy that is produced for out need. A parabolic mirror much like a dish antenna can be used to capture the sun’s rays and focus them on a single point. 

The radiation method

This is the principle behind the solar water heaters. Painted black pipes sandwiched between two layers of glass, have water inside them that is heated thanks to the rays of the sun.

Solar panels

A more recent invention the ‘solar cell’ is composed of treated silicon crystals, which when hit by the rays of the sun knock electrons out of their orbits and thereby create a void that needs to be filled by electrons from the other silicon crystals, this creates an imbalance of electrons and hence a flow of current which can be either immediately utilized or else stored away in a rechargeable battery.

What’s stopping us?

Despite the apparent benefits of using solar power it is most unfortunate that there are very few solar power plants around the world. Sadly, with today’s level of technology, cost and reliability are two major factors that are still hurdles in the way of mass usage of solar energy. 

Technological limitations dictate that the most efficient solar cells created today are still not capable of generating enough power to be commercially viable without occupying huge surface areas. Furthermore, reliance exclusively on solar cells in not yet practical,  for if there were to be a cloudy day it could reduce the amount of electricity generated and that would be disastrous for those people completely reliant on that energy.

On the bright side, constant innovation and research on solar energy is resulting in much more efficient solar cells that are a fraction of the size of existing cells and churn out much more power. For now they are still expensive, but not far is the day when they will be affordable and available to the common man.