Swimming Pool Solar Heating
14th February 2025
Solar heating collects the sun’s rays to warm the water in your swimming pool, so you can use your pool more often without having to pay high heating costs.
“It’s too cold!” A familiar cry in backyards around Australia, as kids and adults dip a toe in the freezing water of their swimming pools. Without heating, many pools sit unused for much of the year simply because the water – tempting as it looks – is too cold to swim in.
If you’re looking to solve this problem by installing a heating system, then it pays to do some research. You will probably discover three options for heating your pool: gas, heat pump or solar. And, as we discover below, it’s highly likely that the latter is going to be the most energy efficient and cost-effective solution.
How solar pool heating works
Solar pool heaters use the same principles as household solar hot water systems. These systems use direct heat from sunlight to warm up water that is being pumped through a system of tubes (think of how warm the water gets in a garden hose left lying in the sun). Bear in mind that at night, or on very cloudy days, the water won’t warm up at all.
There are a few components to a solar pool heating system:
- Solar collector: made up of tubes or panels (which, in fact, contain a series of very small tubes) through which your pool water will travel. Generally, the solar collector is installed on a roof or on the ground near the pool.
- Pump: pumps the water from the pool to the solar collector and back again.
- Temperature sensor: many systems include a sensor that will automatically divert water from the solar collector when your ideal temperature is reached.
The time it takes for a pool to heat up using a solar heating system can depend on where you live in Australia and the month of the year. The efficiency of the system can also depend on whether you have a pool cover or not. Generally, a pool cover will help a swimming pool reach the desired temperature faster.
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How much does solar pool heating cost?
Upfront, there’s not much difference between the cost of a gas, electric and solar heaters. Solar pool heating can range from about $3,000 up to around $5,000 depending on the size of your pool and the quality of the system you go for.
It’s with the running costs that you start to see where solar pool heating really pays off. From one energy bill to the next, solar can be vastly cheaper than other forms of pool heating.When you think about how much you could save over the lifetime of the pool, then solar really shines.
Is solar pool heating worth the investment?
The only person who can really answer this question is you! A good place to start is to look at how often your pool is being used now (without heating). If the cold water discourages you from taking a dip on all but the hottest of days, and you want to use your pool more often, then perhaps the answer is yes.
Then, it may be a good idea to have a chat to your local pool specialist about the size of the solar system you’d need for your pool, and how it would be installed. They may also be able to give you a payback figure – that is, how quickly the solar pool heating system would pay for itself compared to other pool heating options.
The final word
Solar heating is a cost-effective, energy efficient way to warm the water in your swimming pool. You can enjoy a swim in the comfort of your own home guilt-free, knowing that you’re simply harnessing the sun’s free rays.
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Red Energy is 100% owned by Snowy Hydro Limited, who own, manage, and maintain the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in New South Wales. Our Customer Solutions team is 100% based in Australia.