Swimming pool heater

Sticking with the theme of “cool summer” solutions, those who are fortunate enough to have their own swimming pool will require some kind of heating for the water.

Even on a warm sunny day an unheated pool can feel cool and on days where the air temperature is not so high outdoor swimming pools can feel positively cold.

The way to resolve this issue and to make a pool usable all year round is to use a heater. These special heaters come in many different forms. Some are intended for small to medium sized pools only, whilst others are for larger water expanses.

Some will use free or cheap energy like solar power or heat exchangers whilst others rely on burning a fuel like gas or propane.

What all of these different pool heaters manage to achieve is to raise the temperature of the water in the pool by a sufficient margin that bathing and swimming become pleasurable.

The types of heater that are used on a small above ground pool are cheaper and less powerful than those used on fully submerged pools and they are often portable and this means that they can be removed and packed away when not in use.

The heaters for in situ pools are permanent and often have a small hut or underground area in which they and the pump (and sometimes the filter) operate. These heaters can be costly depending on whether their use is for 365 days a year, or simply to give a temperature boost during the summer months.

The types of swimming pool heaters that are available include boilers, condenser boilers, heat exchangers, electric heaters and solar mats that convert solar energy into warm water. The pros and cons of each option may or may not suit different pool sizes, configurations and user requirements.

In buying a pool heater it is not only the initial outlay that needs to be considered, but also the ongoing gas, oil or electricity costs necessary for running the heater. With solar power these costs do not exist and with a boiler they can be very high.

A heater does of course require a pump and a filtration system in order to keep the water clean and circulating and these items make up the rest of the swimming pool’s permanent kit.