Fafco Solar

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NYPOOLUSER

Fafco Solar

Postby NYPOOLUSER » Mon 21 Apr, 2008 08:46

Anyone use a Fafco Solar Panel system? Recommendations? Their notched design makes sense to me, but I'm wonder if it's actually any better then other solar panel systems.


chem geek
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2381
Joined: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 21:27
Location: San Rafael, California

Postby chem geek » Mon 21 Apr, 2008 10:43

I have an in-ground pool and use the FAFCO SunSaver for 11 panels and have 1 additional panel that is a FAFCO Revolution (this panel was added after initial installation). The SunSaver has FAFCO's "Florida Solar Energy Center" output of 1014 BTU/ft^2 while the Revolution has output of 1064 BTU/ft^2 so about a 5% greater efficiency. That's not a very big difference so if the price difference is much larger than that, then it's probably not worth it. Instead, you can just add an additional panel for greater surface area.

I'm very happy with the FAFCO system. We like to keep our pool warm near 88F as it's used as a therapy pool and the FAFCO system lets us do that most of the time without needing gas heat except at the outer edges of the season (April/May and October/November). Even so, the solar system keeps the water from dropping even further in temperature so less gas is needed. During the core season from June to September, the solar is sufficient for heating. I live in Northern California just north of San Francisco so the climate is warm, but not exceptionally hot (see here for a graph of average monthly temperatures in my area). We have an opaque electric safety cover that helps retain the heat at night -- probably about half as efficient as using a regular "bubble" solar cover.

Richard
NYPOOLUSER

Postby NYPOOLUSER » Tue 22 Apr, 2008 08:04

Hey thanks Richard. You answered exactly what I was looking for. And I'm very familiar with your area my wife grew up in Tracy California

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