Solar Heating Used In Blenheim Pool

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31530, 18 November 1967, Page 5

Solar Heating Used In Blenheim Pool

(Specially written for "The Frets" bp M R. CRAIGHEAD) The owner of a private swimming pool in Blenheim firmly

testifies to the benefits of a solar heating system. The system, built and installed at a cost of about $2OO, raises the temperature of the pool by about 20 degrees Fahrenheit and is expected to increase the use of the pool by about six weeks at each end of the season.

The solar heating I system was built and I installed recently by ■ Mr N. S. Verity to I heat the 19.000-gallon swimming pool at his | motels in Blenheim.

When explaining the working of the system to a re- • porter of “The Press” recent-1 ly, Mr Verity measured the | temperature of the water en-l tering the system at 66 deg-j rees, while that being re-1 turned to the pool was 85; degrees. This check was made' at 10 a.m. and both sets of I temperatures would continue ] to rise during the’day. The! temperature of the pool had' already been up to 72 degrees | this season, said Mr Verity. ; Heater Described Measuring Bft by 10ft, the solar heater has been erected I on top of the building housing the filtration plant of the pool. The heater is pitched at an angle of 42 degrees to get the greatest heat absorption from the sun.

Although many heaters of this type rely on the water

circulating by convection I caused by the water absorbing heat from the sun’s rays, Mr! Verity has connected the |; heater in series with the filtration plant. The filtration plant pump lifts the water at 80 gallons an hour to the heater, where the water circulates through many feet of black-painted narrow gauge copper tubing. The tubing has been bent to form a series of j parallels to get as great a j length as possible exposed to the sun.

The tubing is mounted on a thin sheet of black painted tnetal, which is insulated underneath by a two inch thick slab of polystyrene. An upward loss of heat is restricted by a double sealed air gap each an inch in depth, locked between parallel sheets of glass. Plastic Covers Mr Verity says that the temperature in these air gaps has been checked at as high as 208 degrees and the water! after being left stationary in the pipes of the solar heater; for an hour on a sunny day has reached 180 degrees. . To help conserve the heat;

in the water of the pool, sheets of black polythene plastic, mounted on rollers along the side of the pool, are drawn across the surface of the water at night or during a cold snap. The black plastic sheeting floats just beneath the surface of the water in the pool and the thin layer of water on top gains extra warmth from the sun also.

The plastic sheeting covering the pool serves also to keep wind-blown debris from contaminating the water. The sheeting keeps leaves and other foreign matter on the surface of the water, from where it is easily directed to the wide black painted skimming channels surrounding the pool. The thin layer of water continually flowing over these channels gains warmth from the sun also.

The photograph below shows the solar heater on top of the building housing the filtration plant and dressing sheds, and shows a section of the pool covered with black plastic sheeting mounted on rollers on the side of the pool.