Solar power for pool suggestions

Parker Clack · 01-18-2008, 07:39 AM

I have a friend that has an above ground pool that uses a 1 HP, 110V 15amp circulation pump that he would like to run off a solar panel during the day. Does anyone know if anything like this is made and if so who you would recommend to buy one from?

Thanks,
Parker

KevinGress · 01-18-2008, 01:12 PM

It'd pretty much be a combination of a solar panel, battery, and an inverter.

A good site to investigate such things:

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Qui-Gon John · 01-18-2008, 07:14 PM

We had an array of Solar Panels to heat the water for the pool. It worked great, but mounted on the roof, it wreacked havoc with our roof. After Hurricane Katrina came through South Florida, we had our roof redone, (just before Wilma). There was a lot of rotted wood due to seepage where the panels were fastened to the roof. That was all replaced and we were lucky, our screen patio was much more secure to the new wood and held up through Wilma. I'm sure it would have all come down if that hadn't been done beforehand.

Needless to say, we went to a Heat Pump after getting the new roof. Not free, but I wasn't about to put holes in the roof again. BTW, the solar panels were pre-existing.

Parker Clack · 01-18-2008, 07:31 PM

Kevin:

That is what I figured he would need but I didn't know if anyone had a package already designed and ready for purchase.

John:

This would just be to power the pump and not heat the pool. I was thinking of something along the lines of the type you would see at a school crossing or with road construction with the panel that attaches to a battery and then has an inverter to convert the DC to AC.

mylan · 01-18-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qui-Gon John

Needless to say, we went to a Heat Pump after getting the new roof. Not free, but I wasn't about to put holes in the roof again. BTW, the solar panels were pre-existing.

I have been looking at solar to heat my pool here in north Georgia but I was going to mount them against the fence, where any seepage would fall to the ground underneath but would not get as much sun coverage as a roof mount.
If you don't mind my asking, what did your power bill run with a heat pump?

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Qui-Gon John · 01-18-2008, 08:50 PM

Well it varies quite a bit, as you can imagine. We try to only run it when we are using the pool and we keep a solar blanket on it, even in summer. We like the water warm.

But I would say, the months we use it, it probably adds 50 to 100 a month to our electric bill.

BrianW · 01-18-2008, 11:21 PM

Parker, that's about 1.5 kilowatts. Solar panels cost about $2 to $4 per watt, so a 1.5Kw panel would cost at least $3000.

That may sound like a lot, but if you run your circulation pump 6 hours a day, that's 9 kilowatt-hours every day in electricity that it consumes.

If electricity in your area costs $0.11 per kwh, then the solar panel will pay for itself in just over eight years, assuming you run the pump every day of the year.

Yeah, that's a long time. That's why solar panels aren't on every roof in the country. But it's shorter than the life of the pool, and if you plan on being in that house ten years or more, it's worth it.

Inverters that allow you to connect to the grid are expensive, but you don't need one of those. You just need a (much cheaper) 2KW stand-alone inverter, like those used in vehicles, to plug your pump into.

On the other hand, if you live in a net-metering state, you may want to consider hooking your solar panel up to the grid. That way, you get the savings benifit of the solar panels, even if you don't run the pump during the off-season.

Solar panels are finally starting to get cheaper, and companies like NanoSolar and even Honda are starting to crank out solar panels that are much cheaper to manufacture. When these become common-place, solar panels will (hopefully) finally reach that $1/watt price point that would make solar power worthwhile for all but the most short-term uses.

I'm sorry, I'm just starting to research solar power (for different purposes) myself, so I don't have any company recomendations.

Parker Clack · 01-20-2008, 06:19 PM

Brian:

Thanks for the feedback. That is what I have turned up myself. That is that panels are getting cheaper as they in more of a demand. I was hoping that someone that lives in a pool heavy place like Houston, Miami or Tucson might know of some local vendors that have a ready made stand alone panel that could power a pool circulation pump.

Edwin-S · 01-21-2008, 12:34 AM

I don't know if this will help, but.......

ETA Engineering - DC Pool Pumps - Solar Power Pool Pump Kits

http://www.partsonsale.com/43-PoolPumpBrochure.pdf

It sounds like converting a pool pump to solar energy is expensive up front. It may pay to replace the existing pump with a purpose designed system or keep the existing pump as a back up and install a solar powered pump as the primary.

Edited to add: Either way, your friend might want to contact any of the above and find out if their systems could be adapted to his present set up.

BrianW · 01-21-2008, 07:24 PM

Good find, Edwin. By using DC motors in their pumps, they avoid the inverter conversion losses, so the solar panels don't need to be as large to do the same job.

Parker, I hope you're looking into that. I'd forego the optional Sun Tracker Mount, however.