- Which kind of collectors should be used?
Answer: Normally unglazed absorbers without any insulation. In cases of additional heating of domestic hot water for the showers also a combination with flat plate collectors will be suitable
- Which collector area will be sufficient?
Answer: The size of the collector area depends mostly on the target pool temperature. In most cases 50% to 100% compared with the pool surface will be enough for increasing the swimming pool water by the desired amount.
- How much fossil energy can be substituted by the solar system?
Answer: If unglazed absorbers will be used the specific system yield varies between 250 and 350 kWh/m² and season. In case of flat plate collectors the amount will increase from 350 to 450 kWh/m²
- How long is the payback time of the investment?
Answer: The costs for a solar system will be paid back through the energy saving costs in a rather short period, normally less then five years.
- How much are the investment costs?
Answer: The specific investment costs may vary between 50 and 150 € per m² (incl. costs for mounting and tax) in case of unglazed absorbers.
- Has the absorber system be drained back in the winter time?
Answer: That necessaty of draining the absorber field depends on the absorber material: Absorbers made by EPDM (Ethylen-Propylen-Dien-Monomer) are frost resistant down to -50°C and no draining is necessary. In contrast absorbers made of PP (Polypropylen) should be drained during the winter time to avoid a damage by freezing.
- Are there any subsidies available ?
Answer: Please check the relevant homepages of your government/local authorities if there is a funding for solar swimming pool heating existing
- Is a specific qualification necessary for installing such systems?
Answer: The skills for installation and maintenance of solar systems for
swimming pool heating will be usually acquired by manufacturers or
companies producing the components as well as system solutions.
It is highly recommended that only firms with specific experiences in that
field of solar application will be commissioned to realize such systems.
- Is solar heating of swimming pool water also a suitable application for the private sector?
Answer: Usually more efficient collectors like flat plate collectors will be used for domestic hot water production or space heating. In some cases it may be sufficient to use unglazed absorbers for the preheating of water, but the gained temperatures will be far below compared with the other collector types.
- What is the life span of solar systems for heating the swimming pool water?
Answer: From the German experience one can say that the life span will be minimum 15 years
- What are the costs of maintenance?
Answer: Usually every year 1% of the investment costs
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