What is the biggest benefit of owning a pool for you?
We suspect that, like us, you placed “cooling down in the refreshing pool water on a hot summer’s day” at or near the top of the list. But, blistering summer heat can sometimes make your pool less refreshing and more like a warm bath. Thankfully, we will show you how to cool off your swimming pool using a number of easy techniques.
We’ll show you the best ways to lower the temperature of your pool and how to keep it that way once you’ve achieved it.
The Best Ways to Cool Your Pool
When it comes to knowing how to cool off your swimming pool or even warming up your pool, there’s one thing you need to remember. Things won’t happen immediately.
Pools have an average water volume of 10,000 gallons. To heat or cool such a volume of liquid requires a substantial amount of energy. Now that you’ve tempered your expectations, here are some ways to keep your pool at an appropriate temperature.
Water Features
You can keep your pool temperature down in this way but it is one of the more expensive methods. Yet, it is also one of the most effective options. Water features that keep your pool water moving, such as fountains, waterfalls, or other features, promote evaporation. Liquids that evaporate lose heat in the process of becoming gases.
It is the same reason that you can keep cool with a damp towel around your neck.
Water features do not have to be continuously run. It is best to use this cooling method at night. Although it can be used during the day, it will be less effective if the temperature is warmer.
The biggest disadvantage of water features is that they are expensive and time-consuming to install. If you don’t have a pool yet, talking to your pool installation team may be a good idea.
Draining It and Refill It
Using cold water to replace some or all of your pool’s water is a great idea. You can reduce the temperature of your pool by draining it partially and refilling it. However, there are some risks involved with this method.
When your water source is warmer than your pool’s water, you’re just replacing your pool’s water with warmer water. Check to see if your water is surface water or from a well to find out if it’s cool water.
A rebalance of your water’s chemicals will also be necessary. As a whole, this technique is not as straightforward as it might seem, but it can have a major effect in some parts of the country.
Create Shade For Your Pool
You’ll understand why the water in your pool is so warm in some parts of the country if you stand in the hot sun for a minute during the summer. But that’s only the effect of the sun on your skin. A swimming pool has a much larger surface area. Consider how much energy it absorbs from the sun.
It is the sun who is your biggest enemy when it comes to keeping your pool cool. Shade is one of the best and most effective ways to cool down a pool. You can reduce the amount of sunlight your pool absorbs with every bit of shade you provide.
Shading your pool can be improved in a number of ways. Using artificial sources of shade is the most obvious.
Pergolas, shade sails, parasols, and enclosures can all provide shade. To find the right mix of coverage and cost, you’ll need to determine your budget. Natural shading is another option. Planting vegetation is a long-term option, but it is also a great way to improve the appearance of your outdoor area.
With the help of a landscaper, you can ensure your pool looks attractive and receives all the shade it needs. As part of this strategy, features that impede airflow will also be eliminated. The wind won’t reach your pool if there are many trees and other obstructions around it.
You can cool your pool naturally through evaporation by using airflow. Make sure you incorporate natural breezes into your landscaping plan if you’re looking for colder pool water.
Use a Heat Pump Or Pool Chiller
You can always install a pool chiller if you’re not inclined to get too creative. It’s just a question of utilizing a tool that already exists.
In a modern pool chiller, water is cooled using fans as it travels through the system. It’s that simple. It is claimed that pool chillers can drop the temperature of a pool by ten degrees overnight. This is true in many cases. In truth, your pool’s size has a great deal to do with this. The devices can be installed within a few hours, so you can get to work as soon as possible. Depending on the size of your pool, you will have to spend a few thousand dollars on a pool chiller.
Heat pumps are also an option. Yes, you heard me correctly. The reverse function of a pool heat pump is to cool the water by extracting heat from it. Heat pumps, however, will not be used much in places that are very hot and humid. Using a chiller to cool the pool water is much less expensive than using a heat pump. A chiller is cost-effective in comparison to a full heat pump that cools your pool.
Use Solar Panels At Night
As with a heat pump, solar panels can also be used to cool water.
A solar panel heats your pool in the following way:
During the day, you use a pump to circulate water through the solar panels for your pool. Solar panels absorb solar energy, transferring it to the water. At night, the process is reversed. A rooftop is considerably cooler at night than a pool area. As a result, if you run water through the panels, they are exposed to the cold night air.
The water in your pool will become colder before you know it.
It should be noted, however, that this method will not cool the water to a temperature lower than the ambient temperature. In some areas of the country, even the nights do not dip below 80 degrees. The only problem is that this strategy only works in certain areas.
The Ice Option
OK, so this isn’t the best long-term strategy, but it works when you’re in a bind. You can use ice to cool down your pool FAST if you absolutely, positively must.
Ice has several disadvantages, as you might imagine. For starters, it’s expensive. You will need several thousand pounds of ice to cool down a pool of any size. You can expect to spend hundreds of dollars depending on where you buy it, if you can get that much ice at all.
Also, it won’t last very long. The temperature will drop fast, but it will also heat up quickly too. You’ll see all your hard work melt away in a few days. Although you will have a cooler pool, that can’t be denied.
The ice solution may be the best choice if you were planning to host a pool party and need to know how to cool off your swimming pool as you don’t want to disappoint your guests by having a lukewarm pool.
Keep Cool In Your Pool
We have shown you how to cool off your swimming pool. We have explained several of the best methods of cooling down your pool in our article. Choose from small or large investments, as well as short or long-term solutions. The best way to keep your pool cool is probably to combine some of these methods.
Is there any other way to keep your water nice and cool? Leave a comment below with your favorite.