To calculate the number of solar panels you need to heat your pool, the most important factors are your pool size in square feet of surface area and on which roof you plan to install your solar panels. After selecting a few other factors, we can easily calculate the number of solar panels you will need depending on the solar panel size used. Our methodology is based loosely on the Florida Solar Energy Center’s system sizing method, taking into account our local weather, customer reported satisfaction levels, and years of experience. A properly sized solar pool heating system will result in pool temperatures that can reach around 10ºF higher than unheated pools year-round. Since solar energy is a weather dependent technology, we can’t guarantee a given temperature every time of the year, but the popularity of solar pool heaters indicates that customer satisfaction is extremely high when a proper system design is done.
Try out our handy solar pool heat sizing calculator below to see how many solar panels you need to heat your pool.
Comments
Wow, thanks so much for putting together this easy to use estimator. I actually had no idea an average sized pool needed that many solar panels, but now that I think about it it does make total sense. But as you’ve said before, although you may pay a fair amount for the panels the amount you’ll end up saving really is insurmountable. I know some people who could really use this information since they’re looking into using solar power to heat their pool so I’ll definitely be passing this along.
Thank you for putting up this calculator. I will definitely share this with friends.
Hmm, this is very helpful that is for sure. You are only calculating the surface area and not the volume of water the pool has, that surprises me.
Sizing a solar pool heater requires using the surface area because that is where the most heat is lost overnight. The whole idea is to replace lost heat, and therefore the volume is not as important as the surface. If your pool is particularly deep, you might want to add panels, but that is rare in Florida.