Heating pools all year round

In the seasons that you'll swim no doubt there'll be days when you feel as though heating pools would be ideal when it's a little brisk. We caught up with Merv Smith to discuss just what you'll need when you want to heat a swimming pool.

Tell us about the importance of pool heating.

In most cases, pools can only be used for three to four months a year. If you install pool heating, solar being the most effective type, that would give you at least eight months a year swimming at temperatures 7-10 degrees greater than they would normally be.

What is the most effective pool heating system to use in winter?

If you were looking at heating all year round, I'd suggest another form of heating to solar - either gas or heat pump as an alternative. They have an inherent running cost, though, so solar is the cheapest option. It's sustainable energy and obviously friendlier on the environment.

What kind of solar collectors do you use?

It works differently to household solar hot water, which uses panels. At this stage there's still nothing as efficient as a strip collector for pool heating. With pools, we have to obviously turn over large volumes to achieve the temperatures that we require, and other products tend to fail.

What new products are there on the market?

The big thing at the moment is making the whole outfit a little more pleasing on the eye. We are now offering six different colours in solar collectors that blend in with most roof types. We have a terracotta brown, slate grey and blue, for example.  

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

I am one of two directors, so day-to-day I could be doing anything from sweeping to doing deals with the bigger companies. We do everything from the small domestic pools to Olympic-sized pools, so we deal with universities, councils and swim centres.

Contact a pool specialist in your area to find out prices, ranges and ways of heating pools: