Don't waste your money on useless pool insulation! I tested it all, and it SHOCKED me!

[@Fomicom]

We have done some similar testing...however with 2 containers buried in the ground and both with a cover. One box with 5 cm sprayfoam insulation, the other one without insulation. To keep the water at 28°C, the non-insulated box needed 60% (!!) more energy to keep its temperature level (during the night). So insulating the swimming pool is usefull, as long as there is a cover as well. It's the same with home insulation, there's no use of insulating your roof if your windows are wide open.

[@pooatpauls10]

Cover also reduced wind movement over the top which helps massively. I used two 8ft inflatable discs about 8 inches thick floating on our pool on top of the solar cover at night then remove in the sun to let solar cover do its thing. Works welll.

[@bevanclark3828]

It would be interesting to see the result if they were below ground pools. Also, insulation + cover.

[@enigmaume]

The concept of heat loss in a pool should be thought of like a simple device , for example a thermo flask/thermo. So the walls need an airtight gap between the pool walls. Another thing which I think you can add is a cheap mini pump running off solar, pumping water through pipes where water flow is then exposed to sunlight in a tight box. Water running through the pipes then gets heated which then recirculates back to the pool.

[@jessi330]

Part 2. All with lids, and instead of foam on bottom, try the bubble insulation on bottom with foam sides. Another with bubble on sides and bottom.

[@cale1231986]

Are you aware of the water weight and what would it make on bubble insulation placed underneath 12-40 cubic meters of water

[@logothaironsides2942]

Makes sense since heat rises. We have a black pool cover with a clear bubble wrap style on top of that both very cheap.

[@danschipul6172]

To answer the question asked early in the video, my guess would be the top lid container will hold in the heat better to prevent heat loss from going up.

[@DesireToInspire1]

Its not so much about the heat direction, it's about evaporation. If i where to put a very thin plastic film on top of the water then i would have got the same result.

[@blazejsutovsky5671]

At first, I thought, what an interesting test. I'm just thinking about insulation of above ground pool. But in the end, when I realized that only one box is with lid, it turned into useless comparison. Well, not completely, it confirmed a good cover is necessary. And of course, warmer water is on the top and without aything the energy loss is realy huge and not even comparable to what goes away thru any wall - every plastic wall is form of insulation. The graph with all having a lid would really show what everybody wants to know. This comparison is like five people exercising various ways to loose weight and the sixth goes to liposuction. Conclusion - don't waste your time on sport. :)

[@JanLemahieu]

the blue insulation tiles under my intex pool are making a big difference . if i put 1 or 2 solar bubble foils on top at night it helps even more to keep the temperature! but if you cover the top completely the water starts to stink! water with chlorine produces chlorine gasses and they need to escape

[@benchristenson2280]

This is extremely helpful

[@kevingooley6189]

The Pirani gauge predicts that 99.7 percent of energy is lost by convection. A cool molecule is heated by the pool surface then it rises allowing another cool molecule to contact the surface become heated and move away. This a very effective method of cooling. If you were to repeat the experiment with 2 lids or three lids you could calculate the effect of evaporation vs convection.

[@TheHeatingheroes]

Poly tunnel is a very cheap way to have a whole pool cover paired with a solar cover, which ensures you keep even more heat in

[@jimbujold5586]

Thanks for the video. I was contemplating insulating my pool? Interesting test. We have an above ground pool and a heat pump …and a clear solar blanket. The blanket allows sunlight to penetrate somewhat…but isn’t on if the kids are in the pool. I think I would be better off with a blanket that retains more heat versus the one that allows sun light to go through it.

[@benfel9403]

I 'think' this is all to do with latent heat barrier issue. In your boxes, the insulation is touching the 'pool' walls so the heat passes through. Ideally (from my understanding) you want the insulation close to the pool walls but not touching so the heat cannot pass through. You need to create a latent heat barrier where the heat leaks out into a restricted area. If sealed properly, once that void of space has heated up then that is when you will minimize heat loss, but having the escaped heat being reflected back towards the pool wall and not able to escape elsewhere.

[@saitdesigns]

Awesome thank you so much!!! Such an incredibly helpful and informative video!!! You just saved me a fortune on unnecessary insulation

[@DesireToInspire1]

Glad to hear that! The most important part is to prevent evaporation! A very thin plastic film on the surface of the water would work really good as well.

[@RagnarokLoW]

interesting test! I was right for this specific test. It would be interesting to see the results again but with metal walls like a lot of above ground pools have. but also a comparison with insulated walls and a cover.

[@nicholasmaione5694]

Yeah I would love to see another experiment with dirt insulation and concrete insulation bucket in addition to what you have. And with all lids on every one. And with different thickness and material of covers. It’s a worthy experiment

[@earld1403]

Have you tested the Clear cover versus a White or Dark one? I'm assuming that the light coming through is what is helping the water to stay warmer (versus just preventing evaporation)? Also, long term, will a Clear cover that is UV rated be required versus plain plastic that will Yellow over time?

[@DesireToInspire1]

Water is transparent and does not absorb much heat from sun. A black cover would absorb a ton of heat making it even warmer. A white cover would reflect away all heat. A transparent cover is the perfect choice to measure the heat loss from evaporation.

[@PaulBrunache]

you're savage nobody can't stop you thx

[@noobdad3216]

Should have done with an opaque container. The sunlight going into the un insulated makes it not a fair comparison.

[@VooDoo_swe]

The test is not accurate since sun is heating the containers that doesn't get shadowed by the insolation.

[@DesireToInspire1]

Well the same could be said about all above ground pools except that there darker material would heat up even more by the sun. But if you had looked close then you would have seen that the sunny side has brown paper on them to block out sun from going into the pool from the side. And if we gonna push this even further then the light go trough the back of the wall because it is transparent and so i would argue that this is the opposite of what you think it is :) Now even if the sun where to heat up the water, the insulation STILL outperform the sun power so how is it not accurate?

[@despairer]

thank you

[@IanJones82]

Super helpful, thanks.

[@matthewjr1982]

What was the temperature of the ground/earth when you did this? That would have a big impact. Apologies if you accounted for this in your video, but I don't remember you mentioning that

[@DesireToInspire1]

Ha ha ha :D Thank you!

[@ciagaz8705]

How would it do if you put the insulation around the bin with a cover?

[@JenniferCrane-o7b]

what about insulation to the top and sides?

[@mikeb3553]

I guess covered will retain the most heat....

[@therealtimwarren]

Interesting video. I think there is a typo in your title. I think CHOCKED should read SHOCKED. "Chocked" seems to be half way between shocked (surprised / upset) and choked (obstruction of the airway).

[@IanJones82]

I guess the one with the top cover!

[@danielgingras2427]

A better test would be floor, walls and cover, compared to just cover.

[@PowerSearchYT]

One with lid.

[@DesireToInspire1]

Lid beats all, that is my point. It is the easiest and cheapest option to save a lot of heat from escaping.

[@einarmikkelsenPNW]

Hei. Jeg lurer på hva test resultatene hadde blitt hvis du hadde en container som ikke fikk sol inn på sidene og som hadde bakke tempratur på utsiden. Her i Seattle er bakken ganske stabil på 10 grader når man kommer en meter ned. Det kan ikke være bra å få inn 10 grader mot kantene når man kan insulere.

[@VertigoGTI]

I guessed lid since heat rises. Basic thermodynamic principle Edit: I love being right 🤣

[@developarchitects1540]

Do we really need to tell you that below ground the soil is around 10C or 50F all year round. Your "test" is quite silly lmao

[@DesireToInspire1]

This is not true at all. The ground can freeze down to 120 cm here where I live. Even so, during summer, 10 degrees is way less than the 30 I want in the pool. Preventing heatloss save big money over time.

[@andreaharrison7039]

What a joy you are. Your wife is a lucky lady 😂😂😂