With summer officially over, many people will want to have the ability to extend their swim season. If you want to be able to use your swimming pool for a majority of the year, you’re going to have to choose an electric, gas or solar power heater. Choosing the right type of heater is going to depend on your finances, the layout of the swimming pool and your needs. In this blog post, we are going to highlight the different types of heaters and what to look for when it is time to get them fixed.

Solar Heaters

Solar heaters are a great choice for those that prefer sustainable options or going greener for their home. They are an excellent choice for those that are comfortable with temperatures ranging in the swimming pool from 80 – 85 degrees. If you’re in a warmer climate like ours with sufficient sun, solar can work all year round. However, if you’re in a colder climate with cloudy days it will be more challenging to use the pool as it might be too cold but a few sunny days can change all of that.

The heaters use the sun’s heat, which is, of course, free, so they don’t have any operating costs. Your existing pool pump circulates the pool water through the solar heater which is commonly located on your roof. Since the pump has a timer, you should set it to operate during daylight hours or when the sun is out.

Please note that this type of heater will only raise the temperature of your swimming pool to about 10-15 degrees above ambient temperature. 

Gas Heaters

If you want to heat your pool only for shorter periods of time, then gas is what you are looking for. Although it is true to say that gas heaters are effective, they are certainly not cheap to operate, so they are pretty convenient for quickly heating your pool from time to time. Gas heaters can either use natural gas or propane for fuel. They will require a hookup to natural gas or storage for propane gas. Please note that even though they are the most effective at heating your swimming pool, they will also be the most expensive.

How To Troubleshoot Your Heaters

The following are a few things you can do to help troubleshoot your heater:

• Is the heater switch on?
• Is the thermostat set to the desired temperature?
• Is your filter clean?
• Is the heater gas valve open or in the on position?
• Is the heater pilot light lit?
• Is your gas supply valve open?

These are just a few suggestions that you can try but if your heater still isn’t working after you have done them, contact us today so schedule an appointment so we can help you! We can also help you with complete heater repairs too. Recently, we replaced the heater shown below.

Old, broken heater

New, replaced heater