Do I really need a solar blanket for my swimming pool?

Well not like you need chlorine but a swimming pool solar cover still has its perks.

Whether you are using a heat pump, electric, propane or solar panels, it costs money to get that heat; don’t you want to keep it? If your heat is all “au naturel”, then your increase in temperature could be considered priceless.

Also known as summer covers, solar covers and bubble blankets, solar blankets keep the heat that the pool accumulates during the day in the water at night (when used). If you are using a heater, a solar blanket is a must have item, as you can lose 50% or more of the heat gained, overnight due to the heat transfer into the cold air. Imagine the steam rising off a lake in the wee hours of the morning. You don’t want that happening to your pool!

Pool heaters aside, the sun alone can drastically change the overall pool temperature during the day, and the solar blanket can keep that heat in overnight allowing you to enjoy more pool time the next day.

There are also liquid solar covers like Cover Free that can also help prevent heat loss and reduce evaporation. This invisible cover creates a barrier on the top of the water that is nontoxic, invisible and only needs to be topped up once a week.

Cover free is best used in conjunction with a solar blanket allowing you to expect the lowest amount of evaporation and heat loss possible! It aids you in doing what is best for the environment too- reducing and conserving water.

Blankets come in different colours, thicknesses and qualities. We usually recommend a lighter colour if not clear to prevent shade on the pool. Coloured blankets also reduce or reflect sun rays prevent the warming of the water. Blankets can slow the circulation of the top few inches of pool water and create shade in the pool. This promotes algae growth.

Tips on using a solar blanket

• If you have it use it! It doesn’t perform well
  rolled in a ball in a corner of the deck.
• When installing the blanket bubbles go down in order
  to allow the blanket to float.
• Take the cover off during the day and put a uv
  blanket on it to prevent the bubbles from bursting. This extends the life
• Pass over the lower mil blankets for something
  thicker like a 11 or 12ml
• Solar reels, while expensive, make the blanket
  easier to get on and off the pool and extend the life of the blanket
• Keep the blanket off during the day and during
  wind storms
• Don’t leave the blanket on after a shock
  treatment or when chlorine levels are high

So do you really need a cover on the pool? Well no. But it is in yours and the pools best interest to have one.