Solar Pool Heater Panels

You should budget a gross panel dimension of approx. 140cm in length and 85cm in pipe to pipe width or about 1.2m² per panel.

Please use our interactive sizing calculator to accurately size your panel needs, if you have any difficulty please contact us. Note: we frown upon the practice of selling you more panels than what you actually need for your heating goals - to back our smaller sizing recommendation we provide a panel sizing guarantee.

Besides the increased efficiency in cooler weather during critical season extension months - we absolutely frown upon the industry practice of selling you a larger system. The Australian Standard 3634-1989 for sheltered pools only recommends 60% (rubber strip) coverage in southern regions, 50% for mid regions, and 40% for northern regions. Over-sizing a system will result in polymer collectors stagnating at detrimental temperatures of up to 80°C for longer periods during hot days when the controller shuts the system down. As such over-sizing reduces collector lifetimes, requires a larger pump and higher upfront costs - all for diminishing gains in water temperature. If you require higher temperatures beyond our maximum collector recommendation we recommend a solar blanket.

Yes, but only to an extent. You should not go below our minimum 2 month extension recommendation, see our interactive sizing calculator. No - we are not trying to sell you a larger system. There are very good reasons why a system should not be dramatically undersized. Effective heating requires a minimum daily turnover typically 50% of your pool water volume. However, there are flow limitations on panels; hence an undersized system may not handle the flow required which could over-pressurise panels, or if the flow is insufficient, will result in an unmixed stratified layer of warm water which will cool excessively overnight.

You can use your existing controller if it's in good working order - however pressure pumps that power rubber mat systems are typically too strong for these panels. Over-sizing the pump not only uses more electricity but has the potential to limit panel lifetimes due to large pressure fluctuations in the panels. EcoOnline (and OKU) only recommends typically 0.25HP to 0.5HP pumps for small 8 to 30 panel systems.

It is a false economy to use a large filter pump for solar applications - the pump still has to expend energy to pump water to the roof, putting back pressure on the pump reducing filter flow, hence there is no free energy gained. Besides this we don't recommend running a high power filter pump for 8 hours per day for the solar side (potentially over pressurising panels) if you don't need to filter for that long. An independent system with a well matched small pump will save you money in running costs and look after your panels in the long run.

No, after witnessing customers try such pumps and struggle with them our advice now is not to use them, unless they can be set to run at a constant speed without a start up surge. We find variable pumps start at full power then taper back, this puts a lot of pressure fluctuations through the panels on start up which could limit panel lifetimes. We only recommend pumps that can pump at a constant set pressure.

Generally we don't recommend this as you may have priming issues with your main filter pump during start up due to air being drawn in from the solar line tee you installed. Whether your filter pump will deprime in this case will depend on how far below the waterline you installed the solar tee. Note, a non-return on the solar line will not help here as non-returns are not generally air tight over time. If you do not have independent solar lines and can't install the tee far below the water line (minimum say 1m below) then your options are a manual system, a booster system or a motorised ball valve option, see the manual for plumbing diagrams.

At present unfortunately no we do not have installers as we ship around Australia. However, our manuals are very comprehensive and cover most situations and issues. There is also unlimited tech support available. Most handymen/tradespeople can install our systems. From what we hear, solar pool heating installs are very seasonal, hence most specialist pool heating installers are run off their feet during the install season, this means they charge an arm and a leg for poor rushed installs. Our advice is if you can DIY safely or source a trusted installer that will take his/her time, you will save a great deal of money and headaches.

Yes, in fact we highly recommend you check over the manual to get a good idea of installation requirements before you purchase. The manual can freely be downloaded from our EcoOnline download page.

Installation on tiles is more difficult and we recommend it should only be attempted by experienced DIY or tradespersons.

No, this is a common misconception. Slowing the water flow will result in a warmer outlet but also less harvested energy overall since there is much less warm water flowing. This is because the panel is being made to work at a higher temperature and hence a lower efficiency. Faster flow rates better strip the heat from the panels (up to a point of diminishing benefit). Optimal flow rate is achieved at 5-10L/min/panel. Over-sizing flow rates beyond 10L/min/panel will not provide more heating but can have a detrimental effect on the panels due to over-pressurisation depending on the back pressure determined by the number and size of the eyelet returns to your pool.