Want to extend your pool season but aren’t sure how?
Keep reading to learn the secrets to doubling your pool season
When the weather is right and the sun is out, owning a pool is the life. It’s a place to cool off on those scorching hot summer days. And a great spot for last-minute get-togethers in the spring.
But unfortunately, a lot of pool owners only get to swim for about half the year, at best. Because if it’s not cold weather that cuts your swim season short, then it’s the increased costs of keeping the pool open.
So, for most of the year, your swimming pool goes untouched. And you miss out. No more pool parties, moonlight swims, or morning laps.
But what if extending your pool season was a simple as making a few small changes?
Changes that make it way easier to keep your pool warm year-round.
Well, it is that simple. And that’s what this post is all about
So if you want to avoid big monthly expenses, and stop letting the weather keep you from swimming, then keep reading.
7 Ways To Extend Your Pool Season By Up To 6 Months
Use a solar cover
If you want quick results, then using a solar cover is a good place to start.
Simply put, without a cover, your swimming pool loses a lot of heat throughout the day. The same heat that you run your pool heater for.
But you may be wondering:
Does a solar cover really make a difference?
A solar cover reduces pool heat loss by 75%. When you use a solar cover, your pool water heats up more efficiently and stays warmer longer.
It’s just like using a cover when you’re boiling a pot of water. The cover helps the water heat up faster and provides a barrier that prevents evaporation and maintains temperature.
This is why solar covers are a great way to lower your pool heating costs and get more time in the water.
Use a pool heat pump for energy-efficient heating
For a lot of pool owners, if it’s not the weather that shortens their swim season, it’s the cost of heating their pools.
A pool heat pump solves both problems head-on.
Here’s how:
Even when the sun goes down, and the temperatures drop, a pool heat pump can still warm up your water. And that’s because it sources heat straight from the air surrounding it.
For most pool heat pumps, the cutoff temperature for effectiveness is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. But with models like the Oasis Platinum, you can heat up your pool even when it gets as cold as the mid-30s. And if you’re using a cover, then locking in that heat becomes much easier.
But if you’re worried about the cost, then rest easy knowing that pool heat pumps offer the most cost-effective, on-demand heating available. Since they harvest natural heat, rather than physically generate it like gas and electric heaters, monthly heating costs are substantially lower.
How low?
Pool heat pumps are only about 1/3 of the cost of gas heaters per month ($100 vs $300).
Related: 9 Ways Owning a Pool Heat Pump Improves Your Health & Your Life
Want to avoid cold pool water, beat bad weather, and swim year-round?
Install a year-round swimming pool enclosure to lock in heat
Although solar covers are great for improving heat retention and reducing heat loss, they can’t defy the weather.
At the end of the day, they won’t turn a cold winter day into a warm spring morning. A cold day is still a cold day with or without a cover.
That said, if you were to say, put a wind-blocking enclosure around your pool, that might change things a bit.
Well really, it’d make a huge difference. And depending on the material you choose, it can even be like having an indoor pool, but in your backyard.
By installing a pool enclosure, you:
- Insulate your entire pool area
- Block out water-chilling winds
- Enjoy a much cleaner pool
Harvest free solar heat with a black hose
Not ready to fight off the elements just yet?
No problem! You can still take advantage of free solar heat and save money by using the black garden hose hack. Just make sure it’s a sunny day!
This little pool heating trick is simple:
- Grab a long black garden hose.
- Attach the hose to a water source
- Wrap the hose into a coil, with a few feet to spare
- Place the coil into direct sunlight
- Hang the draining end of the hose over the pool
This method takes advantage of the natural thermal properties of color: while lighter colors reflect light, darker colors absorb it.
Black garden hoses absorb solar heat and transfer it to your water as it flows through. They’re essentially DIY pool heaters in the purest form.
Related: 7 Cheap Ways To Heat Your Pool
Use automatic timers to stay on schedule
Excited about extending your pool season, but not looking forward to the extra work?
Let an automatic timer handle the job for you. It’ll power your pool system, including your heater and filter pump, automatically. Even when you’re nowhere near it.
If you’re someone who travels a lot or doesn’t have the time to keep up with pool care, an automatic timer is a lifesaver.
Simply set the time limit, and watch as your pool system comes to life.
No more walking back and forth to turn it on. No more coming home to a cold pool because you forgot to heat up the water.
With an automatic timer, you cut down your workload, and boost the efficiency of your pool system. But there’s another even bigger benefit of using an automatic timer:
Freeze protection.
Related: 21 Pool Care Hacks That Make Pool Maintenance Easy
Does saving 70% on chlorine each year & chopping your
pool maintenance work in half sound good to you?
Install a backup gas heater for freezing temperatures
So let’s say that a fierce cold front swings through town, and temperatures drop to freezing levels. In that situation, a pool heat pump might have trouble keeping your pool warm enough.
So if you’re not ready to close the pool, then you have to find a way to keep it warm right?
This is when a gas heater can be a great way to extend your pool season.
Sure, it’s not the most cost-effective option, and certainly not eco-friendly, but warms up your pool the fastest. And that’s what matters most during those rare, frosty nights.
So if you live in a place where temperatures can easily drop below the 30s, then a backup gas heater can be useful. Especially if you plan on extending your pool season into the colder months.
Bottom line, on the occasions when it’s just too cold for a pool heat pump, a gas heater can keep your water warm.
Prevent freeze damage
It may seem obvious, but if your pool does end up freezing, then there’s no more pool season. Yup, freeze damage is THAT harsh.
It can burst your pipes, break down your pump, ruin your heater, and physically destroy your pool.
Point being, preventing freeze damage should be a top priority for anyone interested in making their pool season longer.
How do you do that?
If you remember from earlier, pool enclosures, pool heat pumps, and automatic timers are all great solutions.
But what happens if the water starts getting too cold, and you don’t have a backup gas heater to keep it from eventually freezing?
At that point, the safest way to avoid freeze damage is to winterize your pool.
Properly winterizing your pool:
- Eliminates the risk of freeze damage
- Safeguards your pool equipment
- Makes your pool easy to reopen later
The keys to extending your pool season
Enjoying more time in the water and extending your pool season is easy, if you keep a few simple tips in mind:
- Keep your pool warm
- Choose energy-efficient heating to keep costs low
- Maximize heat retention with a solar cover
- Reduce heat loss
- Prevent freeze damage by winterizing your pool when necessary
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7 Best Tips To Lower Your Swimming Pool Bills By 50%
