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Solar
Heating for Swimming Pools
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will ensure panels and pipework are matched in colour
and the job is virtually complete.
slate tile and into the rafter below, with plenty
of mastic applied to prevent any possibility of
a leak.
SunStar panels are made of black, UV-
stabilised polypropylene. Each measures over
40
ft. sq.
and consists
of more than
150 small
tubes moulded to top and bottom headers.
An air gap between the tubes greatly reduces
wind loading and allows the surface below to
' breathe.' The tubes absorb heat from the sun
and temperatures inside them can easily reach
30-40°C. When pool water is circulated
(ideally
covering an area
about 80%
as big as
through them by the filter pump, the heat
the pool itself), they can provide most of the
heating a pool needs during that period. The
is
carried away
into the
pool.
Although unglazed and uninsulated, the
colder the pool, the higher the panels'
panels are ideal for pools because they are
output, so they can be particularly effective in
at their most efficient when working at
taking the winter chill off the water in the
relatively low temperatures. In the five
early part of the year. Keeping a cover on the
months May - September, for example,
pool helps it to retain heat at night and when
their heat output can be up to about 300
it
is cloudy.
kilowatt hours per sq. m. This means that
An extra bonus from the panels for the
provided enough panels are installed
Lumsdens is that they have helped solve a
problem they have faced every summer since
moving into the bungalow - overheating on
sunny days in the south-facing upstairs bed-
rooms, which are immediately below the roof.
The solar panels now provide shade and,
because of the high flow rate of water
through them, are cool to the touch and take
heat
away from
the roof.