Best solar pool covers can help you if you want to heat up your swimming pool and keep it heated all season long. You don’t need to purchase any expensive gas pool heaters.
All you need is the power of the sun and a simple solar pool covers or solar blanket. Solar pool cover works like a charm.
Image | Product | Features | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Sun2Solar Blue Solar Cover |
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MidWest Canvas 18' x 36' Rectangle Blue Solar Cover |
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Thermo-Tex 2831224 Swimming Solar Pool Cover, 12' x 24', Blue |
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Robelle 1836RS-8 Box Heavy-Duty Solar Pool Cover, 18 x 36, Blue |
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Solar Sun Rings Solar Pool Heater SSR-SB-02 |
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Splash Pools Round Solar Pool Cover, 21-Feet |
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Pool Mate Deluxe Swimming Pool Solar Heating Cover, 18 x 36 |
| View on Amazon |
Best Solar Pool Covers Reviews:
There are plenty of solar pool covers available in the market, it can become very tedious task to choose the perfect choice as per your requirement.
In this section, I have hand picked the the best solar pool covers for you so that you can pick the product based on your requirement.
1. Sun2Solar Blue Rectangle Solar Cover
Sun2Solar Blue solar pool cover is capable to reduce water evaporation by 95% and heat loss by 15%. It has a unique & creative design looks attractive. It comes with lots of bubbles on the surface that works as a insulation layer.
This is lightweight product & easy to handle. It is highly efficient, durable & superb quality product, keeps the pool water temprature constant throughout the day.
You’ll appreciate its long-lasting quality and ability to maintain a consistent pool temperature throughout the whole day.
Pros
- Reduce water evaporation & heat loss
- Heavier material that can survive in the wind
- lots of color, size & thickness options available
Cons
- Limited warrenty only for seam delimitation and separation
2. Midwest Canvas Solar Pool Cover
Midwest canvas solar pool cover is the perfect solution for round pools. It is a heavy duty solar pool cover. The thickness of the cover is 16 mils and contains diamond shaped bubbles on the surface that grabs the solar heat.
It comes with light bright color that doesn’t allow sun-light to penetrate through. This is durable & efficient product.
Pros
- Durable product
- Reduce water evaporation & maintain heat
- Comes with 5 year warrenty
Cons
- Difficult to fold because of its high thickness
3. Thermo-Tex Swimming Pool Cover
Thermo-Tex Swimming Pool Cover is the most affordable solar cover available in the market. It is value for money product. This cover is made from high quality UV-resistant polymer material. Very lightweight product, you can easily fold & unfold it.
It can efficintly reduce the water eavporation from pool. Despite the fact that it is rectangular in shape and is 16 x 32 feet, it can be cut to accommodate a variety of pool styles and sizes. It has a 3-year limited manufacturer’s guarantee.
Although this one is on the more expensive side, our staff believes the quality is worth it. On a very windy day, we had a few minor issues with it, but overall, this is a good choice for an inground pool solar cover.
Pros
- Lightweight easy to fold & unfold
- Built with high quality material
- 3 year warrenty
Cons
- Not suitable for round pools
4. Robelle 1836RS-8 Box Solar Cover
Robelle 1836RS-8 is a super heavy duty solar pool cover & made from 8 mil thick polymer. You can’t fold and unfold the cover alone. It is available in blue color. Unlike the other solar pool cover, you can cut and adjust the size of this cover according to your need. You are also get three years warrenty on this product.
You may simply cut this to fit your individual pool size, even though it is 18 x 36 ft. If something goes wrong with your cover, you can rest assured it’s covered by a 3-year warranty.
The Robelle 1836RS-8’s best feature, according to our analysis, is how quickly it raised the pool’s temperature when compared to the other solar swimming pool covers for inground pools we tested.
Pros
- Increase the water temperature fast
- Heavy duty cover
- Decrease the water evaporation
Cons
- Difficult to fold & unfold
5. Solar Rings
Are you feeling some cold spots in your swimmimg pool? Then solar sun ring the best solution for you. Basically, solar rings are floats on the surface of pool water. The center part of the solar ring is UV-resistent so that UV-rays can’t pass through it.
In addition to that, they can capture the sun-light, affordable & easy to use. The company offers a two-year warranty on manufacturing faults and a one-year warranty on craft and components.
Pros
- Easy to use (Cover & Uncover)
- UV- Resistant
- Super effective to trap sun light
Cons
- Not able to cover the entire pool
6. Splash Pools Round Solar Pool Cover
It is made up of thousands of small bubbles that effectively capture heat. Indeed, it is capable of performing so well that it may be too much for those who live in hot conditions.
The Splash Pools Solar Pool Cover has a round shape with a total length of 21 feet. Although it appears to be larger than many pools, the extra space allows you to trim it if necessary. This pool is great for heating up your inground pool and is also one of the more affordable options on our list; but, the quality and durability were lacking when compared to our top two picks.
Pros
- Round shape and 21 feet length
- Decent sized bubbles
- It keeps the water warm for longer.
Cons
- May cause calcium build up issue
7. Pool Mate 1836RS-8SBD BOXPM Deluxe Solar Blanket
The best solar cover for inground swimming pools with an aluminium heat barrier is the Pool Mate Deluxe Solar Blanket. The solar cover is constructed of polypropylene with an aluminium shield on the other side. This blue-on-silver design will help to keep the heat inside the pool.
The solar cover we tested was 18 x 36 feet in total, but it also comes in two additional sizes depending on the size of your pool. It does come with a 5-year guarantee, but you’ll have to contact the firm to find out what it covers and what it doesn’t.
This pool cover was one of the most effective at keeping the inground pool warm. After several weeks of testing in our facilities, it began to exhibit signs of deterioration.
Pros
- Comes with aluminium shield
- 5 year guarantee
- Easy to clean
- Easily cut into shape
Cons
- Not better longevity
- Quality may be very
Buyer’s Guide – Best Solar Pool Covers
There are some very important factors that you need to consider before purchasing any solar pool covers. In this section I will cover it in details so that you can pick the best product with ease.
Bubble Blankets vs. Solar Rings
Most of the people get confused between bubble blanket and solar rings. Bubble blankets are less expensive and easy to use. It absorb the heat of the Sun and transfer it into pool water during the day. In the night, it works as an insulator or a barrier that is not allow to heat tranfer from pool water to atmosphere. This way it can keep the heat maintained in the pool.
Bubble covers are lightweight and UV resistant. it is made of polyethylene or polypropylene materials. it is available in different thickness ranges from 8 to 16 gauge. Thicker material is better because it it is more durable.
Solar ring pool covers are efficient and effective in improving the solar heat collection in your swimming pool. This cover has a hook that, when attached, uses a magnet to create a raft on the surface of the pool. The ring can be removed when skimming and vacuum is required. The uncovered spaces allows light to pass through it.
Manual Vs Automatic
Solar pool covers are available in 3 different models which is manul, semi automatic and automatic.
As name suggest manual covers you need to adjust them with your hands. Semi-automatic covers as a reel system and uses electric power. You need to guide the movement to remove the cover.
Automatic pool cover is the best option because with the push of a button you can roll and unroll the cover. It isn’t required any menual effort.
Inground Vs Above Ground Pool
There are some specific models and design are available for above ground pools. One thing you should keep in mind that the cover that is used for above ground pools will not work with in ground poles and vice versa.
Solar pool covers are also available in various shapes you should have a proper measurement of your pool so according to your full size you can buy the the perfect cover.
The key take away here is you should have a proper measurement of your pool and wether you want to use it in above ground or inground type of pool.
Color and Type of Material
The solar pull covers are available in different colors. You should pick a dark color so that it can protect against heat.
Don’t pick too dark color because it can keep your pool cooler. Semi-transparent covers are the best option to choose from because it allows the UV rays to pass through it.
There are three types of material name living and polyethylene and polyurethane are used to make full covers. Vinyl pool covers are the best and most durable option because of their heavy duty protection.
Types of Solar Pool Covers
Basically, there are three different types of solar pool covers out there. All of them do basically the same thing, which is they don’t actually heat your pool up, they just keep the heat that naturally comes in from the sun in your pool.
Solar Blankets
solar blankets or solar covers, they look like those giant pieces of bubble wrap and they lay on top of the pool. Bubble side down, helps to float.
What you’re looking for if you want to actually aid in the heating of the water is a very light blue, an
opaque, light blue cover or a clear cover and if you have, if you find a clear cover with some silver on the bottom, that’s gonna help keep more heat in the pool that is attracted from your solar cover, but generally what’s gonna happen is the solar cover is not gonna actually heat up the pool,
it’s just gonna reduce evaporation and keep the heat in your pool.
Solar Rings
Solar rings are basically just little, tiny solar covers that float in your pool. So solar rings are easy, they’re just little discs, you throw them in and they work basically the same way,
keeping heat, keeping the evaporation from happening and thus keeping the heat in the water.
Liquid Solar Covers
it’s like a very small, molecule thick layer that kinda just keeps everything from evaporating, so that is what a liquid solar cover is.
Again, not gonna heat your pool but it’s gonna help reduce evaporation.
Conclusion:
We hope you found this guide to selecting the best solar pool cover for your swimming pool helpful!
A decent solar swimming pool cover has numerous advantages, like regulating your pool’s temperature and balancing your pool’s chemicals. You can use the above reviews to determine which product is suitable as per your pool type and requirement. However, the Sun2Solar Clear Rectangle Solar Cover is my personal favourite.
FAQs- Best Solar Pool Covers Reviews:
1. How fast does a solar cover heat a pool?
The solar cover can heat the pool by 5 degrees or more over the course of a 12-hour period if it is properly covered during the day.
2. Can you run pool pump with solar cover on?
It is completely safe to run the pump. You may also save heat by using the solar cover while the water circulates.
3. Do solar pool covers cause algae?
Solar pool cover can’t cause algae growth. However, It may accelarate algae growth due to increse in the temp of the pool water.
4. Does a solar pool cover need to touch the water?
When installing the cover, make sure it completely covers the water surface to prevent heat from escaping. It is the best practise to cover the pool with cover.
5. Do liquid solar covers actually work?
Yes, if you we’re talking about reducing evaporation which is keeping heat in the water.