PV Gap

Anita Said:

Does heat pump works well here in Southern California? I need a electrical heater for swimming pool?

We Answered:

I hope you are getting the biggest solar system you can afford. I did, and am eternally grateful. As you can imagine, the cost per kW of generating capacity goes down as the size goes up.

For a heat pump, you could consider the type of system usually installed for ground source. Some of these depend on water from the ground, pumped through a heat exchanger. In your case, you could use the pool water., circulating it past the heat exchanger, and back to the pool. You could arrange it so the "waste" cold is sent outdoors when you don't want to cool the house, and to the house on hot days. If there are winter periods when you do not want to heat the pool,, you could have the heat pump draw heat from the pool, for heating the house.

Of course you could use a resistance heater for the pool, but it would be two or three times less efficient. You can buy pretty big inline spa heaters. They are on the Internet.

Kathleen Said:

Generating electric via Solar?

We Answered:

Solar panes will blend well with your architecture if they are considered when the house is designed. If the broad side of the roof is on the south side at the proper angle they don't look so obtrusive. When they are mounted on stilts at an odd angle to the roof they look silly.