July 17, 2026, 5:03 am | Read time: 4 minutes
What could be better than jumping into cool water when it’s 86 degrees or more? Those who own a pool know the refreshing feeling. But what about on days with milder temperatures or at the start of the season? How can you maintain or raise the pool water temperature? In this article, myHOMEBOOK provides an overview and investigates whether a solar heater for the pool is really worth it.
At the start of the swimming season, it’s not yet fun to jump into the water. It takes some lead time to bring the water temperature to a comfortable level using a heater. There are various heating options, sometimes in combination.
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Different Heating Options
For smaller pools, simple electric heaters are sufficient. These electric heaters work similarly to a tankless water heater. However, electricity costs can quickly skyrocket depending on the pool size.
Another option for slightly larger pools is a gas heat exchanger. This method is suitable for heating large volumes of water in a short time. Gas, as a fossil fuel, fluctuates greatly in price. Therefore, gas-powered pool heaters are not cheap in annual consumption.
In fact, you can also heat the pool with a wood stove. The costs per swimming season for the necessary firewood are manageable. A major disadvantage, however, is that when heating with wood, someone should always be present.
In recent years, solar heaters for pools have become increasingly popular. To learn more about this, myHOMEBOOK inquired with the Federal Association of Solar Crafts (BDSH).
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Combination of Heat Pump and PV System
“There are different ways to heat your pool using solar energy. Solar heating mats, permanently installed solar absorbers, solar thermal collectors, and a pool heat pump in combination with a PV system. This option is the most cost-effective compared to the other three measures,” says Lucas Flügel, BDSH spokesperson, listing the range of solar-powered pool heaters.
Many pool owners may already use a heat pump to heat the water. This was not included in the brief list above for a good reason, as the heat pump is particularly cost-effective in combination with a PV system.
The BDSH spokesperson provides a small calculation example: “For a pool with a volume of just under 50 cubic meters, the annual electricity costs for initial heating, maintaining the water temperature, and operating the filter pump are roughly estimated at about 1,600 euros.”
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These costs arise for a pool without a cover. However, such protection makes sense. Evaporation causes about 75 percent of the total heat loss of a pool. A pool cover prevents the water from cooling down at night and noticeably reduces heating costs.
Even without a PV system, the ongoing costs are reduced by about 400 to 600 euros with a tight cover in the example mentioned. In combination with a PV system, the savings potential is even higher: “A solar-powered heat pump plus cover reduces the costs in our example to just over 400 euros per year, a saving of over 1,000 euros,” Lucas Flügel quantifies the financial advantage of a solar-powered pool heater.
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An Investment That Quickly Pays Off?
Compared to other solar-powered options, this combination has a significant advantage. “A heat pump combined with a PV system operates more independently of the weather throughout the year, meaning that unlike, for example, the solar heating mat, this system is not as affected by cloudy and overcast days. To generate electricity, a PV system only needs diffuse light, which is sunlight scattered by clouds, fog, or particles in the atmosphere and does not directly hit the solar modules,” explains BDSH spokesperson Lucas Flügel.
Therefore, it is worthwhile to complement an existing heat pump with a PV system. Those who use their pool regularly will quickly recoup the investment costs through the low electricity costs. “And in addition, the swimming season can start earlier and extend into September due to the low ongoing costs,” adds Lucas Flügel.