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Effect of an enclosure on air and pool temperature

• The polycarbonate panels act like a greenhouse. Direct exposure to the suns rays or, on cloudy days, the effect of diffused rays warms the air within the enclosure. At night or on cooler days the heat of the enclosed atmosphere is gradually lost.
• At the start of the season the water temperature in an unheated pool rises by 2oC per day when exposed to direct sunlight.
• The water temperature also rises on light days even when there is no direct sun.
• Evaporation of water from the pool leads to loss of heat. If the temperature difference between water and air is 3oC, a 32 m2 pool will lose 40 litres of water per day, and an 80 m2 pool will lose 100 litres per day. An enclosure – by isolating the water surface fro m the external at mosphere and by decreasing the ther mal gradient – slows down the evaporation of water from the pool.
• An effective additional method of reducing water evaporation is to spread a solar foil over the water surface. Foils directly exposed to sun and frost are not durable and become dirty easily. But when they are used under an enclosure they perform their function very well. The combination of a foil and an enclosure is a highly successful way of reducing water heating costs.
• If you get too warm inside, the moveable segments let you swim in the open air in a trice.