Have a swimming pool at home? Dive into making your pool more efficient by investing in a pool cover.
A pool cover has many benefits: it is the best way to conserve water and heat in a swimming pool. By preventing evaporation, covers will save 30%-50% of water lost compared to an uncovered pool. This can save you a lot of money and effort spent refilling your pool. Plus, covers retain heat. Heating costs can go down by as much as 70% when a cover is used habitually. During the summer season in the Northeast, for example, this could mean savings of over $600 for the year. Covers also keep pools clean by blocking dirt and debris, reducing time spent cleaning and expensive chemicals required to treat the pool.
To get the greatest benefit from your pool cover, take off the cover right before swimming and cover it back up as soon as you're done using the pool for the day. Keeping the cover on at night will retain heat from one swimming day to the next and minimize overnight cooling. One of the cheapest and most effective options is a solar cover, which resembles a giant sheet of bubble wrap. Solar blankets, as they are sometimes called, absorb heat from the sun and pass it on to the water. Many different varieties of pool covers in many different sizes are available, so do some online research or consult your local pool supply store to make sure you get the cover that works best for your pool.
