I have wanted an in-ground swimming pool my entire life and last month that finally became a reality. I work for a software business and after 10 years of tenure with the company, I was given a handsome promotion. Month by month, I nestled away a little bit of money so I could eventually afford to install a pool in my backyard. I thought it would take at least another 12 months of gradual saving but then I received a random bonus from my boss. I was elated and within days had plans for the pool installation. It was finished in May, just in time for the hot summer season. My family loved the pool immediately and everyone was thrilled to have it. But the first autumn chill here in early October has me a bit worried. The pool feels like it is freezing cold right now and we’re only dealing with weather in the 50s and 60s most days. I inquired about heating options and soon discovered that powering a pool heater with your home’s electrical grid is extremely expensive. This is why many people opt for solar heating with their swimming pools. One of the most common setups involves an ingenious hydronic-like heating system where a pump pulls water from the pool and into a pipe that runs up to your roof and through a series of black solar pads called a solar collector. The solar collector absorbs sunlight and gets rather hot; and then as the water runs through the channels in the hot solar collector, the water absorbs some of the heat and is pumped back down into the pool. The process cycles until the desired temperature is reached. A special heat insulating pool cover can be laid across the surface of the water overnight to retain much of the heat from earlier in the day. Although the cost will be between $3,000 and $4,000, the added benefit of swimming year round will make the investment worthwhile.
The different types of thermostats