The sun can provide us with huge amounts of useable energy from heat to power. There are two main reasons why we should use solar energy to heat our homes, business and even swimming pools. Firstly, the cost of energy is constantly increasing. For many people, heating now is a luxury as they find it hard to afford to heat their homes as they once did. Therefore this makes it particularly hard to heat a non-essential space such as a swimming pool. Many people are also no concerned over the impact of using fossil fuels on the environment. The emissions generated from using fossil fuels are now known to cause carbon emissions which raise the global temperature.

Using Solar Energy To Heat Your Pool

So its clear we need to move away from using fossil fuels such as oil and gas to heat our homes and pools, however how else can we source heat in a low carbon and 'green' fashion. Well, solar energy maybe highly promoted as a way to generate electricity with solar cells, however it is much better to capture solar energy for thermal uses, such as heating pools. There are various solar air heater designs, however a more appropriate solution for heating swimming pools is the solar water heater. A solar water heater, if built correctly can generate huge amounts of heat.

A Way To Build Your Own Solar Heater

With a little bit of knowledge, its amazing how simple it is to be able to build your own solar water heater from home. A solar water heater for your pool could be assembled for only a few hundred dollars and will give you free heat pretty much all year round with little or no maintenance and running costs at all. On the net there are various videos of home owners who have built their own solar water heaters, such as the one below.

What You Need To Make Your Own Unit

The parts needed to build a solar water heater for pools is actually very limited. The main component is the hot water vessel which is where the solar thermal energy will be captured into the water to heat the pool. You could find suitable water storage vessels from most DIY or hardware stores. If a black tank cannot be sourced, it must be painted black. Much more solar energy will be captured into a black water storage vessel. Once you have your tank. You need to build an enclosure to house the tank that will let in solar energy and raise the temperature of the tank and the water.

You Can Build Your Own With Some Help

Making your own solar water heater for your pool can be very rewarding and save you a lot on purchasing.