Pool Covers:
The majority of a swimming pools heat loss occurs at the surface. The effective and efficient way to maintain a warmer pool is by keeping a cover on the pool during the night time hours, when surface evaporation would otherwise cool the pool down. This cover helps stops night time evaporation.
Automatic pool covers are not difficult to use and can easily add several months to your comfortable swim season
The cost of an automatic pool cover can be substantial but that cost is far out weighed over time by the money saved in heating bills. In fact some European municipallities are requireing that any pool heated with fossil fuels must have a cover. The the cost of heating a pool which does not have a cover can be as much as three times higher.
The best type of pool cover
It's best to use a cover designed specifically for swimming pools. They're made of special materials, such as UV-stabilized polyethylene, polypropylene, or vinyl.
Automatic pool covers have permanently mounted reels that automatically cover and uncover the pool at the push of a button. They're the most expensive option, but they're also the most convenient.
How to use a Pool Cover
Pool covers should be used during your swimming season. If you use your swimming pool during the daytime, take off the cover just before swimming and replace the cover as soon as you're done using the pool.
If you use your pool only at night, the effectiveness of a pool cover will depend on whether the evaporation and other losses prevented by the cover exceed the solar gain reduction caused by the cover. The type of cover and the climate affects this balance. In dry and/or windy conditions, the evaporation rate of the pool increases. Therefore, it is generally beneficial to have a transparent or bubble cover on during daylight hours. In warm, humid conditions the evaporation rate decreases. In this case, it may be more beneficial to leave the cover off during the daytime.
