Preparing An Area For Your Solar Heating System
So you know how many panels you want right? But how many do you have room for is the big question. First you have to decide exactly where they are gonna go. There are several options. You can put them on the ground, or you can put them on a roof. As long as they can get plenty of sun for most of the day, you will be in good shape. You do have to keep in mind, that while swimming pool solar is a wonderful thing, it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing. Remember your talking about a group of panels, adding up to close to the size of your swimming pool or bigger. If you can hide them, then by all means do so. If not, you wont care because you will be enjoying the new found warmth of your trendy, go green, solar heated swimming pool.
The roof is a great way to hide them though and usually provides for abundant sun, which is a key factor in the whole solar heating thing, in case you haven’t figured that out by now. If you are going to put them on your roof, just make sure that it is in good condition beforehand. If youve been putting off having the shingles on the roof replaced, now is probably a good time. Keep in mind, you will be pumping thousands of gallons of water up through the panels once they are up there. Although the weight is negligible on a solid roof, you wouldn’t want to start attaching a brand new swimming pool solar system to a leaky old roof. I know, I shouldn’t have to say it, but you would be surprised at some of the things I have seen over the years, dealing with swimming pools and solar systems.
That being said, just measure up the area once again so that you can decide what dimensions your panels will be and how many you will need. Most dealers offer custom sizing these days at no additional cost. You generally pay by the square footage, and the number of headers that you need. Now all thats left is to make sure that the area is clean and ready to go. The next step is deciding exactly what type of panel is right for you.