Another summer of stifling hot pool water.
Yes, it's definitely worth the challenges and annoyances of installing a solar heater for your pool. And unlike many areas of the green building movement, you CAN actually install the thing yourself and get great results. One caveat: there's no one to go cryin' to when you screw it up...
For those of you who know, I installed a solar pool heater two springs ago on my garage roof and immediately enjoyed the bump in the water temps. Unfortunately, my system got beat up by winter windstorms and flapped its way into oblivion early this year during a particularly bad day of gusts (those of you locals probably remember that day).
With the prospect of going back to 72-degree water this summer and my family breathing down my neck, I cleaned up the mess that was the old panels and went back to researching. What I found was that, even with it's flaws, the best system for balancing effective results, install cost and service life was a low-budget PVC panel system piped directly off my pump/filter unit. After checking out prices online I settled on a distributer of the SunHeeter Solar Pool Heater product I had had before. The onlne purchase was flawless and the kit boxes arrived rather quickly.
As a recognized leader in the Lancaster PA green building circuit and the only Realtor in the region 
focusing on green items in real estate, I happen to know quite a few people in the industry. One of my friends is Steve Mellinger of Blue Moon Enterprises over in Leola. He humors me...He agreed to help me with my installation (he also agreed to help me paint my house a couple of years ago - sick, twisted freak).
Since I had used the same system the last time around the mounting points were very close, but I continue to be unhappy with their strap tie-down system - the webbing straps are junk and degrade over a couple of seasons (hence my flyaway experience this winter). I would recommend researching another tie-down material.
Steve made some very nice upgrades to the setup I had used before, and secured the piping much better. You can see from the picture the web strapping that comes with the system. I had already upgraded my pump to a 1.5 hp unit and have had no trouble pushing the water through the filter and up to the garage roof.
The finished installation took about 3 hours and worked immediately. Love that 100 degree water coming out the jets!
The finished product looks good and has functioned well this summer. I will probably try to take the panels down this winter to avoid damage and unnecessary wear. Total cost? About $700. Nothing else in solar even comes close. Other than the winter maintenance issue I'm pretty stafisfied with the Sunheeter Solar Pool heater system. If you're interested in solar pool heating or any kind of Lancaster PA solar applications drop Steve an email at steve@bluemoonenterprises.com. Don't be afraid to educate yourself and discover the joy of DIY! Remember, that's how most green contractors get started anyway...
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For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff's work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, WGAL Channel 8, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff's blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs. Jeff is also a photographer - view some of his portfolio. Comments are welcome!
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