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If you have a swimming pool where you want to install a heating mechanism, then you should definitely consider using an alternative source of heating like solar energy before going for conventional swimming pool heating using electricity or gas. This is because you can save a lot of money in the long run by using a solar pool heater and cover. Even if you already have conventional swimming pool heating installed, you can change over to solar heating since this is an extremely cheap, not to say eco-friendly method of heating up the water in your swimming pool. 

While initial installation charges of a solar heating system for your swimming pool can range anywhere between three to five thousand dollars, it is an extremely small sum when compared to the electricity and heating bills that you would end up paying every year as the cost of heating your swimming pool.  A solar pool heater can either be installed on the roof of your indoor swimming pool, or if you have an outdoor pool, on the roof of your house. The mechanism involved in a solar pool heater is quite simple–pool water is first passed through a filter that removes debris and then passed through a solar collector, where the water is heated and transferred back to the swimming pool. The pool collector is the main part of any solar pool heater, since this is where all the heating takes place. Once the water has turned warm, it is pumped back to the pool through an automatic or manual flow control valve.

The kind of solar pool collector that you buy will be the main determinant of the cost of your solar pool heater, since pool collectors that work above sub zero temperatures are made only out of high quality plastics. On the other hand, if you live in an area where you constantly face sub zero temperatures, then you will have to go for a pool collector that is made out of metal coated with iron tempered glass and will therefore be costly.

Another method of saving money spent on your swimming pool is by buying a solar pool cover. Once you have your pool covered with a solar pool cover, you can avoid loss of temperature in your pool, thus saving energy. In fact, if you use a transparent pool cover, you will be able to use your pool cover for bringing up the temperature in your swimming pool by trapping solar heat. Another way in which a solar pool cover saves you money is by preventing evaporation. You can lose hundreds of gallons of water from your pool every year. Along with this, most of your pool chemicals also keep vaporizing when the pool is not covered. Thus you not only save on heating costs with a solar pool cover, you also save a lot on chemical and additive costs. At the same time, a pool cover will keep pollutants from falling into your pool, keeping it cleaner for longer periods, saving both water as well as heating expenses.