Q&A: The quest for a solar-heated, salt water pool

Your eco-questions answered:

Question: I own a house in Eagle Rock, a house on a hill, with a pool. It has a killer view and a killer heating bill.  My fiance and I were interested in "eco-ing up" our backyard i.e. solar panels, salt water, etc... but we have no referrals or references.  If you have any idea how or who to speak with regarding solar panels for our pool, please let me know. I'd appreciate it. Thanks, Karena

Answer: I'm a bit jealous of your pool and your view -- but I guess I already have a naturally solar-heated salt water body -- as in the beach -- near me. :)

And you weren't kidding about the killer heating bill! Jason from Low Impact Living, a Web portal of sorts that helps people eco-up their homes, tells me, "An average pool can use $1,000 to $1,500 of natural gas per year to heat if a pool thermal cover is used. Without a cover, gas costs can rise to over $3,000."

In contrast, "A solar pool heating system will probably cost about $2,000 to $3,000 installed, and will provide about 75% of the energy needed to heat the pool," Jason says. "This means that it will pay for itself in about three years."

So, to get started: Your best bet for locally relevant, up-to-date eco info is Low Impact Living, a website that starts you off by measuring your home's carbon footprint, then recommends the best green changes to make, then hooks you up with eco-products and service providers to realize those green dreams.

But skipping straight to getting your solar power system set up: Find your green service providers here. Just plug in your ZIP Code to get a list of companies -- along with customer ratings (though not too many ratings are up as of yet). You might check out this dude's firsthand experience with installing solar panels to get an idea of what to expect.

Then for the salt water part: Too much chlorine can cause health problems -- which I'm guessing is the reason you want to switch over to salt water. Low Impact Living doesn't have a list of salt water pool experts set up yet, but they did do a little research for you: Local pool companies that can get you started include HydroBlue Pool & Spa Service, Avanti Pools, and Aquatic Pool Works. 

Looking forward to the solar-heated, salt water pool party.

Got a question? Ask me: greenlagirl@gmail.com.

Photo by Ashley Bristowe via Flickr

Comments

[sheila]

i thought you should know that "salt water" pools are just a different system for chlorinating pools. i believe there are oxygen-based, ionizing and UV-light based systems which use 10% of the chlorine of regular pools, though, so if you want to "go eco," you may wish to explore those... i have NO idea if they are any good, btw, but i have been considering them for my future pool (fingers crossed).

as for thermal solar, the article you link to is for PV solar, which is totally different. the panels, the installation, the heating process - it's all completely different. Several months ago, Kathy Price-Robinson (Pardon Our Dust blog) reported on a DIY thermal system in a box, which might be a good option for a pool, since it is cheap and pool heaters are not eligible for rebates or tax incentives (although home hot-water heating is now eligible for $2,000 from the Feds and will be eligible for additional rebates next year for natural gas customers in CA):

http://www.hot2o.com/

i'm a little surprised that you write a "green" blog and don't know more about this basic stuff, btw. this info has been out there for many many years, and it only takes about 2 minutes to find it on the internet...

[Jason Pelletier]

Sheila:

You are correct that there are other pool treatment options that avoid the harsh chemicals of standard chlorine treatment (and also that "salt" systems do in fact generate chlorine to treat the water, albeit in a way that is much less harsh than typical chlorine). Many of these systems often use more energy than the standard chlorine treatment, but typically make up for it in reduced chemical costs.

Also, the two links to articles on the LIL website are about solar PV and not solar HW - sorry for the miscommunication! Our experience at LIL finds that solar pool heaters using non-glazed (i.e. non-glass) collectors are often the most cost-effective solutions, although they can take up more space. Last, we do have many solar HW installers in our directory of solar providers, so the link in between the incorrect PV article links will lead you to solar HW installers in most areas.

[Siel]

Mea culpa, Sheila -- I got a little too link-happy and linked to pages about solar power in general (my reasoning being that lots of people who don't have pools still want solar power, thus they can follow the links and read about it) -- but clearly the link overkill was more confusing for you than useful.

I hope Jason's comment answered some of your other questions; I'll do another post later about greening the pool in general (beyond solar power), with some first-hand accounts from people who've gone through the process.