TUCSON, Ariz. — For more than 20 years, Tucson residents have been using solar energy to heat their pools.

Pools can be heated by gas, electricity or solar energy. Pool owners can also add solar heaters to an existing pool heater.

With a solar heater the up-front cost is greater, but in the long run, it’s the most cost-effective, experts say.

“It takes about five to 10 years before you see a return on your investment,” according to Katharine Kent, president of The Solar Store.

The total installation costs about $4,500 for the average pool, Kent said.

“It’s a one-time payment,” said Rob Current, a salesman for Progressive Solar, Inc.. “It’s just the materials, the labor, and then we put a mat up there on the roof for the solar energy. And then you're set.”

John Szewcyck, who had never owned a pool prior to moving to Tucson, said the cost benefits were the main reason for his choice to purchase a solar heated pool.

“We’ve had it for three years and haven’t paid anything other than the installation,” said Szewcyck, a customer who purchased a solar water heater from Patio Pools, Inc., “It’s nothing more than regular pool maintenance after that.”

As opposed to other methods of heating your pool where the price for swimming can be seen every month

“Fifteen to 20 percent of your electric bill is for heating your pool. With the solar water heater, you eliminate that,” said Rob Simpson, a sales representative for Heliocol.


The State of Arizona provides prospective buyers of solar pool heaters with a tax credit up to $1,000, depending on the size of the heating unit purchased.

The potential tax and manufacturer rebates are not only to promote a more environmentally-friendly pool heating system, but also to help spur on the currently lagging economy, said Steve Gibbs, a sales representative from Patio Pools.

“The commercial industry has been kind of slow. It’s not taking off like we had hoped. All the tax breaks are not there like they are for the residential customers,” Current said.

The current downward motion of the economy has not scared away prospective residential customers who want solar heating for their pools.

“More people are buying them now than ever,” Simpson said. “The logic is that they’re getting enough on tax rebates right now to afford it.”

The cost savings translate to another perk. Solar water heating, which has been common in Tucson since the early 1980s, provides swimmers an opportunity to maximize the time they get out of their pool.

“It allows you to swim for nine months rather than six. We have been able to swim as late as Thanksgiving,” Szewcyck said.