What Is The Best Solar Cover For Above Ground Pool Owners?

On our blog we generally recommend products that you can purchase rather easily online or at your local pool store and an above ground solar cover is no exception.

Let’s face it, the costs of water, electricity, pool chemicals and everything else in your life are increasing just about every day. So when you find a product that not only does what it should AND saves you some coin in the process, it’s a no-brainer to consider purchasing it. That’s the case with it comes to a solar cover, often called a solar blanket, for your above ground pool.

So check it out. We’re going to cover the pros and cons of solar pool covers, specifically for above ground pools, and then we’ll give you a few specific recommendations that we’ve found to be best in the market and budget friendly too.

**Below, you’ll find our solar blanket reviews, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.

The main job of a solar pool cover is to transfer the heat from the sun into your pool water, but most people do not realize there are many other excellent reasons to consider buying one.

Here are some of the primary benefits of an above ground pool solar cover or blanket.

Everyone who owns an above ground pool knows that the water temperature is greatly affected by how cold the air is. For those living in the Northeast part of the country like me, you know that it starts to get pretty chilly in September which means closing up the pool earlier than you would like to.

But it’s those late months in the season where a solar pool cover really shines because it can raise the water temperature on average 10-15 degrees and give you a few more weeks of swim time. It’s not uncommon to see your pool be 25-30 degrees warmer than the air temperature which will absolutely extend your season. Money well spent in my view! 

So, if you do not have a solar cover, what are your options to heat your above ground pool? 

Well you could go out and buy a heat pump but a decent one from Hayward or another name brand could cost you well north of $1,000. Some of those heaters are electric and some are gas or propane heaters so you’ll also need to factor in the cost of the fuel. 

Another option is to purchase an external solar heater (like the one pictured here) which pumps your pool water through tubes heated by the sun. The issue is that it can be costly (some are $300-500 to start) and honestly there are just easier less expensive ways to accomplish the same thing.

And that leaves us with our final and best option….that big round shiny heater in the sky we call THE SUN! God was nice enough to give us this year round FREE HEATER and I think we should use it efficiently. 

A solar pool cover is a smart and easy way to harness the sun’s heat and do it much cheaper than a heat pump or any other external heater.

Ever wonder why your pool water level goes down in the heat of the summer?  I’m sure you know that it’s called EVAPORATION (or possibly a big fat hole in your liner, but we’ll discuss that another time!)

It makes sense to think that if you cover your pool during those hot days that you will cut back on evaporation and conserve water while you’re at it.  That’s exactly what a solar cover does. It not only heats your pool, but also prevents the sun from sucking up all of that expensive water you filled it with.

I know when I first installed my pool, I had a tanker come in and fill it with 13,000 gallons. That cost me $520 so every gallon I lose to evaporation costs me 4-cents. It doesn’t sound like much, but that sun can really drink a lot, trust me!

If a solar cover saves you money by preventing evaporation, it stands to reason that you will also save on pool chemicals as well that can dissipate over time and evaporate with your water.

Heat and sunlight can absolutely affect your chlorine levels so it makes sense that covering your pool while not in use is an effective way to reduce your pool chemical bills. A gallon of liquid pool Chlorine can cost you anywhere from $4-6 depending on where you live so it just doesn’t make sense to do nothing while your chlorine dissipates into thin air.

Solar pool covers in general can be heavy, depending on the thickness (or mills) of the material and how large it is. The higher the mills, the thicker it will be and the more cumbersome it will be to remove from your pool.

Some pool owners choose to just yank it off the top of the pool and either drag it onto the deck or off the side in the grass. Doing this can dirty up your cover and then transfer all of that dirt and debris into your pool the next time you put the cover on. It can be a real mess.

This is why we highly recommend purchasing a pool cover reel that rolls up the cover and is easily pushed aside or wheeled away.

With anything large like a pool cover, you need to find a place to store it both during the summer months and the off season. 

As mentioned above, if you have a pool cover reel, you’ll be fine during the months you’re using the pool.  During the off months, you’ll need to make sure you find a safe dry place to store the solar cover so it doesn’t become damaged. Think of the cover as a thicker better version of bubble wrap (and please, don’t try to substitute bubble wrap for a solar cover – it won’t work) so you’ll need to make sure it stays away from sharp objects when in storage.

It’s much easier to put a solar cover on then say a winter cover, but it’s still a fairly tedious thing you need to do if you want to keep your pool water warm.

After a nice day of swimming, the last thing you may want to do is drag a solar cover over the pool. But it’s all part of owning a pool and extending the season, saving money, and all of those other good things we talked about.

As an above ground pool owner for over 8-years now I can tell you the solar cover is one of the better things we’ve purchased, especially since we live in Pennsylvania where it can start to get quite cold in September/October. It’s nice to be swimming well into the school months thanks to smart use of the sun’s rays and the kids get extra enjoyment from the pool every year because of it. I highly recommend that you consider it for your pool as well.

**Below, you’ll find our solar blanket reviews, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Amazon.

We’re big fans of Midwest Canvas in part because they have been around for a while and make a quality solar cover for just about any above ground pool. The main reason we like them, though, is that they source their materials domestically and make their products in Chicago and we love products made by U.S. companies.

What’s also cool about Midwest Canvas is that they’re innovators when it comes to coming up with newer and better ways to manufacture solar covers.  One of their newer innovations is the Diamond Bubble Solar Blanket which uses cells in the shape of diamonds (instead of the more commonly used circles) which, according to the company, decreases the space between cells and ultimately makes the cover a more effective heat insulator.  

And, even with all of the new technology incorporated into their solar blankets, their prices are still very reasonable and even cheaper when compared to other manufacturers.  Whether it’s their newest diamond blankets or their mainstay circular shaped ones, Midwest is definitely top of the line with a price most can afford which is why we love their stuff.

So what do you get from Blue Wave that you don’t from other solar cover manufacturers?  Well for one thing, Blue Wave says their clear covers allow more solar heat to penetrate the pool water which heats it more thoroughly and evenly.

In addition, Blue Wave stands behind their products with an industry leading 5-YEAR WARRANTY, something you won’t see on those less expensive no-name brands you see at Walmart or other local home stores.

Although they are located in the Chicago area, I’m not 100% sure their products are sourced and manufactured in the U.S. like Midwest Canvas. But reviews of their products across the board prove that they know what they’re doing and when it comes to solar blankets, their brand is easily one of the better ones on the market.