Harter Industries makes three different types of solar pool heaters. That means we make a solar heater that is designed for your pool, whether it is above ground, in-ground, or a large public swimming pool.

Hi-Deluxe is the most modern, high efficiency solar collector panel on the market. It is made from a special polypropylene compound. You can use HI-Deluxe to heat any pool or spa. Panels are 4 feet wide and 8, 10 or 12 feet long. Our exclusive EZ Mount makes HI-Deluxe the easiest to install.

HI-Deluxe Solar System Kits are complete swimming pool solar heating systems. Refer to the HI-Deluxe Solar System Kit Selection Table. You will find lists of popular pool sizes divided into "Covered Pool" and "No Cover" sections. If you are using a floating cover on the pool at night and in cold or rainy weather select from the "Covered Pool" list. Locate the pool size that is closest to yours and on the same line find the HI-Deluxe kit for your pool. The kit includes the number of 4 x 12-foot HI-Deluxe solar collectors shown, with the mounting and connection parts together with a control. You can select either manual or automatic controls. All you have to add are hold-down screws and the PVC pipe and fittings you need to connect the solar system to the pool filtration system.

HI-Deluxe Customized Systems. If you prefer, you can design your own solar heater by following the sizing information in this Selection Guide. Simply calculate the total solar collector area in square feet using the information in this guide and divide by the area of the solar collector you select. That will give you the number of collectors you need. The area in square feet of each collector is 32 for a 4 x 8, 40 for a 4 x 10 and 48 for a 4 x 12. You will find a list of the mounting and connection parts in the HI-Deluxe Installation Manual, the Price List and on our Web site.

Hi-Temp Solar Collectors have a solar collector section that is made from a special EPDM synthetic rubber. They are either 4 feet or 2-feet wide and we make them in lengths of 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 feet. You can install Hi-Temp solar collectors flat on the ground, on a flat roof or wherever their shape may fit the surface area better than panels. Because they are flexible they will conform to irregular mounting surfaces. You can cement them to the mounting surface and run them horizontally along or vertically up a sloping roof. Our exclusive injection molded headers make Hi-Temp easy to install.

Hi-Temp Custom Collectors are solar collectors that you can field assemble in any length to fit available space. You order the solar collector surface and headers separately, cut the rubber collector sections to length and connect them to the headers by pushing their tubes over barbed nipples. You can assemble collectors up to 100 feet long.

EZ Heat solar heating systems are designed for above ground pools where in-season heating is most important. They are complete factory assembled packaged solar heaters. The solar collector section is made from a special EPDM synthetic rubber and they are shipped rolled up in a box. You can install them in minutes without special skills. We make three 4-foot wide models:

1. EZ Heat has a built-in three-port control valve so you can turn it off when the pool is warm enough and in bad weather. We make it in 3 lengths, 12, 20 and 25 feet to heat different size pools.

2. EZ Heat Basic has no control valve and is designed to be connected to an EZ Heat for larger pools or when you want to have a still warmer pool and a longer season. You can mount Basic on a roof with a remote control valve or you can use it without a control valve, shutting it off by turning off the filter pump. We make it in 3 lengths, 12, 20 and 25 feet, to heat different size pools.

3. EZ Heat Deluxe features a three-port control valve and a special 25-foot long parallel-flow solar collector for maximum heating efficiency. You can add a fully automatic control system to EZ Heat Deluxe.

Solar Heater System Size Selection:

Ninety percent of the heat loss on most pools is from the water surface. Therefore, the surface area of the swimming pool determines the total area of the solar collectors needed to heat the pool.

Select EZ Heat systems from the table in the EZ Heat brochure. The solar collector area provided by this table should warm the pool during the normal swimming season to a temperature that is 8 to 10 degrees higher than that of an unheated pool if you use a cover at night and in bad weather. For higher temperatures and a longer season you can double the size of the system by adding a Basic system to an EZ Heat system. Use Coupling Kit Pt. #1006. To double the size of EZ Heat Deluxe use System Extender, Pt. #1020.

With any solar system, if you want to eliminate the pool cover and raise the temperature of the pool more than 10 degrees above an unheated pool, the total area of your solar collectors should be at least 50 percent of the pool surface area. In addition, you should increase the size to compensate for less than ideal locations, as explained below.

Solar Collector Location:

You may place your solar collectors almost anywhere in the sun. However, more solar energy reaches them during the swimming season when they face within 45 degrees of true south and slope at an angle from the ground that is 15 degrees less than the latitude in your location. For year around swimming in the Sunbelt, the ideal angle is equal to latitude. The solar collector sizes listed in the selection tables are based on an ideal solar collector location. If the slope angle is 10 to 15 degrees more or less than ideal, increase collector area by 10 percent. If the collectors are laid flat on the ground, or on a flat roof increase collector area by 15 percent.

The direction that the collectors face becomes more important as the slope angle increases. If they face 45 to 60 degrees from south, add 5 to 20 percent to collector area. If they face east or west, add 25 to 50 percent. The lower number is for flatter slopes, the higher number is for steeper slopes. If the collectors are mounted flat and you have allowed for this by adding 15 percent to the collector area, they may face in any direction.

If the pool is shaded all day, increase the collector area by 50 percent of the percentage shaded. For example, if the pool is shaded 50 percent of the day, add 25 percent collector area. If the pool is inside an insect screen room, increase the collector area by 25 percent.

In locations where the average wind speed exceeds 10 miles per hour, add 25 percent to the collector area for each 5 miles per hour over 10.

The more water flowing through the solar collectors, the more heat they will send to the pool. Recommended flow rate is 0.10 gallons per minute per square foot. For example, 0.10 x 48 square feet equals 4.8 or about 5 gallons per minute for a 4 x 12-foot HI-Deluxe panel. Minimum is 0.05 gallons per minute per square foot. HI-Deluxe and Hi-Temp solar collectors feature special low-pressure loss designs. This means that a filter pump that is properly sized for pool filtration should be able to supply the desired water flow.

Controlling the System:

It is important to be able to shut off the solar system with a control to prevent overheating the pool and to keep water from running through the collectors in bad weather. Pool water running through the collectors in cold or rainy weather can actually cool the pool.

If you have the Automatic Electronic Control System, you simply set the desired temperature on the control panel and the system does the rest. When the solar sensor finds that there is enough solar energy falling on the solar collectors to heat your pool and the pool is cooler than you desire, it automatically sends water through the solar collectors. Bright sunshine is not needed to heat your pool. The solar sensor will turn on your solar heater even on a hazy or cloudy day when it finds the right amount of solar energy. Automatic Control is optional on any HI-Deluxe or Hi-Temp solar heating system. EZ HEAT Deluxe has a built-in manual control valve that you can convert to automatic operation with Automatic Control System Part #5014.

Manual control systems use a hand operated three-port valve. You can turn the heater on or off with a quarter turn of the valve handle.

If You Want to Cool the Pool:

In climates where the pool overheats during midsummer, you can use the solar system to cool the pool by running the filter pump at night. If the pool is overheated, your control system will automatically switch to cooling your pool. Radiation from the solar collectors to the nighttime sky will cool the pool water.

Spa Heating:

To determine the total area in square feet of solar collectors needed to heat a spa, multiply the gallons of water in the spa by 0.3. For example, a 250-gallon spa needs 0.3 times 250. That is 75 square feet. Use two 4 x 10-foot HI-Deluxe solar collectors or one 4 x 20-foot Hi-Temp solar collector. The water flow rate for spa heating is 0.05 gallons per minute per square foot of collector surface. The spa pump should be running on low speed when the solar collectors are turned on. You may want to use a separate, smaller pump for the solar system. Because spas are often used at night, you should use a cover and you may need a supplemental heater.

Indoor Swimming Pools:

Indoor pools require more heat than outdoor pools during summer months, because they receive little or no direct heat from the sun. Therefore, the minimum solar collector area should be 90 to 110 percent of pool surface area. The pool will need supplemental heat during cold weather in most climates. Nevertheless, a HI-Deluxe or Hi-Temp solar heating system used to heat an indoor pool will quickly pay for itself in fuel savings.