St Clair Shores Michigan Pools and Spas

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March 14, 2011

Why Should I Invest In An Automatic Pool Cover

I here this question all the time. I also here, “They’re too expensive for us.” Well, let me just speak to you in a more direct fashion as my friends and family have come to appreciate from me, I think. An in-ground fiberglass pool will most likely be the second largest single purchase you will make second only to a new home. Here is the chance to build your dream backyard, your own personal daily vacation, a place we all cherish as our own little piece of the earth, somewhere we go to relax and enjoy our children and pets. Ask yourself this, How many times do I plan on remodeling my backyard? Most of us will answer this question with a resounding ONCE. Automatic pool covers serve two very important reasons. First and most importantly, safety. None of us could ever put a price on the human life. Statistics show there has never, I repeat, never been a drowning when an automatic pool cover has been in use. Pool Covers completely isolate the waters surface, making it a perfect safety barrier. Fences can be climbed, alarms still allow time in the water, but a pool cover supports the weight of several adults, provides more barrier protection than any other pool-safety device and also does not detract or isolate the pool from the pool deck or backyard as conventional fences do.

If the safety of your family, friends and neighbors isn’t enough reason to make this important investment, the other major benefit to an automatic pool cover is chemical and energy savings.

An automatic swimming pool cover can save you as much as 85% on your heating, gas, electrical and chemical bills, and will reduce evaporation by as much as 93%!

Automatic Swimming Pool Covers save you money...and there are plenty of studies and data to prove it. To put it in simple terms…you place a roof on a house to contain the heat and save energy…a swimming pool cover does the same thing for a heated pool. Just like a house without a roof, a pool without a cover will cost you up to 85% more than a pool with a cover. This could be as much as $4,000 in savings per year, just for having an automatic pool cover.

An automatic swimming pool cover system, in most cases, will literally pay for itself in about 2 to 3 years! In fact, if you were to finance your cover, the savings achieved from reduced energy consumption, fewer chemicals used, and the cost of water…could more than offset your payment. It's actually better than a “free cover” since you will continue to generate savings long after you have recouped your entire automatic swimming pool cover investment. How is that possible?

Automatic covers function as passive solar collectors, collecting UV energy during the day and trapping that energy at night.
Automatic covers all but eliminate evaporation, but we're not just talking about saving the cost of evaporated water. When water evaporates from your pool, expensive heat energy (BTU's) are lost as well...this is the gas and electricity used to heat the water...and that energy is expensive to replace, especially as the cost of energy rises.
Automatic covers reduce chemical consumption(another bi-product of evaporation) by as much as 70%

Here is the proof:

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY & OTHER STUDIES

Estimating Heat Pump Swimming Pool Heater Costs and Savings http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13220?print

Estimating Swimming Pool Gas Heating Costs and Savings
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13180?print

Energy Smart Pools Program Chesaning Union Middle School
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/CIS_EO_Inside_casest6_41814_7.htm

Florida Energy Systems Consortium
http://www.floridaenergy.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/swimming-pools.pdf

Swimming Pool Covers
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13140?print

Measurement and Analysis of Evaporation from an Inactive Outdoor Swimming Pool
http://www.rlmartin.com/rspec/whatis/studies_outdoor_inactive.htm

An Automatic Pool Cover Gives You Time To Enjoy The Savings.

Pool covers only work when you use them. Here's where an automatic pool cover shines. Just flip a switch. In seconds the pool is covered! No lugging heavy tarps or hand cranking. It is the convenience of opening or closing your pool in seconds, as often as you like, that helps reduce energy consumption and gives you the time to enjoy your pool. You get big benefits with no effort.

Your pool should be an oasis from your busy life, a place to be pampered. Because automatic pool covers keep pools free of dirt, leaves and other debris, you'll spend a lot more time enjoying your pool and a lot less time cleaning your pool, or paying someone else to do it for you.

Save 3 to 5 thousand gallons of water this summer.

A pool cover reduces evaporation by 90-95%.

		Monthly Loss	Monthly Loss	Monthly Loss
Pool Size	Surface Area	1/2 inch evaporation per week	1 inch evaporation per week	2 inch evaporation per week
15 X 30	450 square feet	600 gal.	1200 gal.	2400 gal.
16 X 30	576 square feet	771 gal.	1542 gal.	3084 gal.
18 X 36	648 square feet	865 gal.	1730 gal.	3460 gal.
20 X 40	800 square feet	1071 gal.	2142 gal.	4284 gal.

Pools differ in evaporation rates due to air heat, shade, water temperature, and humidity.Arrive at your pools present rate of evaporation by marking a spot on your pool wall and observe the lower water level. Then compute the monthly savings you could achieve using an automatic pool cover.

In closing, can you really afford not to invest in an automatic pool cover? If you can think of any reasons please call me, I have not been able to.

As always, thanks for reading and swim safely!

Bob Reynolds

Saving money is the first factor in owning a swimming pool. To save the needed money for the pool of your dreams look at tips for creating an energy efficient home.