Other Benefits of Pool Covers

Swimming pools lose energy in a variety of ways, but evaporation is by far the largest source of energy loss. That is the reason why pool owners were advised to use swimming pool covers to protect their pools, and moreover, to lessen the cost of pool maintenance. Pool covers minimize evaporation for both the indoor and outdoor pools. They were not just simply used as a pool protector, but they were also used to prevent accidents and hazards as they put away the risk of being a victim of falling big debris such as twigs, branches of trees, and others.

Technically, all you really need for a pool cover is a large sheet of plastic. Plastic meets the requirement of being a vapor barrier. But a large sheet of plastic that you get from the lumber store is probably not your best choice. It will be very difficult to handle and store, it tears easily, and sunlight will deteriorate it rapidly.  

Pool covers should be used during your swimming season. If you use your pool during the daytime, take off the cover just before swimming and replace the cover as soon as you're done using the pool. If you use your pool only at night, the effectiveness of a pool cover will depend on whether the evaporation and other losses prevented by the cover exceed the solar gain reduction caused by the cover. The type of cover and the climate affects this balance. In dry and/or windy conditions, the evaporation rate of the pool increases.

Therefore, it is generally beneficial to have a transparent or bubble cover on during daylight hours. In warm, humid conditions the evaporation rate decreases. In this case, it may be more beneficial to leave the cover off during the daytime.  

The two main types of pool cover are the solar cover that is used during summer to keep the heat in the swimming pool, and the winter debris cover used in the winter to keep the leaves out of the pool water, just like any other pool supplies such as the pool filters and pool pumps which were designed for a respective purpose.