Invention: Clip-It-On Above Ground Pool Solar Heating and Insulation
Inventor Name: Chris Brindle
Invention email: Email Contact Form
Patent Number: PCT/GB2006/050224 British Application 05 26189.6 European 06 126736 US & CAN
Invention Status: Small Scale Production, Direct Sale to Interested Pool Owners, Looking for take up by above ground pool companies.
Website: http://www.use-it-more.com
Keywords: Solar Heating Insulation Clip-It-On Above Ground Pools Heat Retention Swimming Pool Heaters

I'm English. The English summer consists of 3 blisteringly hot days in June, when everybody goes out and buys an above ground pool, fills it with water and splashes about a bit. Then it clouds over, so we buy a heater for the pool, but it’s so cold the pool is quite capable of losing heat as fast as the heater can provide it. So the pool remains neglected, slowly turning green, until the 3 day summer next year. In England I supply different types of sheet insulation you can wrap round the outside of your metal-walled above ground pool, and clips that you can use to just Clip-It-On to any above ground pool on the market. Typically in England in summer an above ground pool will get 3 degrees C warmer during the day, but will lose that 3 degrees overnight. However, with a decent surface cover and the sides of the pool insulated you only lose about 1 degree C overnight, so the next day your pool water starts 2 degrees C ahead of the game - and so on. Transparent insulation is best and I turn polyurethane lay-flat tube into compartmented inflatable insulation. You blow it up and then you have three inches of air separating your hot pool walls from the cold wind that's trying to take the heat away. Because the insulation is transparent the sun’s electromagnetic energy will still pass through the insulation to heat up the pool wall but there's the three inches of air stopping conduction and convection losses. So in chilly wet England with the aid of my insulation and my simple but effective swimming pool enclosure I call Pleasure-Dome, a counter-current swimming machine and a small heat pump, I swim in my 12 foot Doughboy pool outside all year round maintaining a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius. So, North America, birthplace of the Above Ground Pool, is this a good idea or not? If you think it is a good idea is there anyone out there that would like to help me market the clips and insulation in North America?