Best Solar Pool Covers
A solar cover is the cheapest way to warm a pool and the single best way to stop water and heat from evaporating overnight. The right one comes down to thickness, the correct size for your pool, and whether you will actually put it on and take it off. Here are the picks by job and how to choose.
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Sun2Solar Blue Solar Cover (12-mil)
Who it is for: Most in-ground and above-ground pools that want the best balance of heat retention, durability, and price.
- +12-mil thickness is the value sweet spot: enough durability for several seasons without paying for the thickest blanket.
- +Sold in nearly every round and rectangular size, so you can match your pool and trim to fit.
- +Cuts evaporation sharply, which is where most overnight heat and water loss goes.
Watch out: Like every bubble cover, it degrades in strong sun and high chlorine over time. Pull it off when you superchlorinate or shock, since high chlorine eats the plastic.
Blue Wave or Sun2Solar 16-mil Heavy-Duty Cover
Who it is for: Pools in strong sun or anyone who wants the longest life and the most heat retention from a single cover.
- +16-mil is the thickest common bubble cover, so it resists tearing and lasts longer than thinner 8 to 12-mil blankets.
- +Slightly better heat retention than thin covers because the larger air bubbles insulate more.
- +Worth it if your last cover fell apart in two seasons.
Watch out: Heavier and stiffer, so it is harder to handle without a reel. The extra thickness adds cost and does not change how much sun reaches the water.
Intex Solar Cover (round)
Who it is for: Intex and Bestway easy-set or metal-frame pools that want a cheap cover sized to the standard round dimensions.
- +Pre-sized to common above-ground round diameters, so there is little or no trimming.
- +Inexpensive and easy to handle on a smaller pool you cover by hand.
- +Holes in the design let rainwater drain rather than pooling on top.
Watch out: Thinner than a 12 or 16-mil blanket, so it will not last as long and retains a bit less heat. It is sized slightly smaller than the pool by design.
Liquid Solar Cover (Natural Chemistry CoverFree or the Solar Pill)
Who it is for: Owners who will never wrestle a physical blanket on and off but still want to slow evaporation.
- +An invisible layer that reduces evaporation with zero handling; you just add it on a schedule.
- +Works on odd-shaped pools where a fitted blanket is impractical.
- +No storage, no reel, nothing to drag across the deck.
Watch out: Far weaker than a real cover. It cuts evaporation modestly and adds little measurable heat, and the film breaks up when the pool is in use. Treat it as a supplement, not a replacement for a blanket.
What actually matters when buying
Thickness (mil) sets durability, not how warm it gets. Solar covers run from about 8-mil up to 16-mil. Thicker lasts longer and insulates slightly better, but every bubble cover warms the water the same basic way: by trapping heat and stopping evaporation. For most pools 12-mil is the sweet spot; go 16-mil only if your sun is brutal or your last cover died young.
Size it large and trim to fit. Buy a cover at least as big as your pool and trim it to the waterline with scissors; it floats on the surface and does not need to be exact. The cover should cover the whole water surface to work, so a blanket that is too small leaves heat escaping from the uncovered strip.
Bubbles face down, toward the water. Float the cover bubble-side down so the bubbles sit against the water and trap heat at the surface, with the smooth side up to the sun. This is the most common question and the most common mistake. Floating it bubbles-up still helps a little but is not how it is meant to run.
Budget for a reel on anything bigger than a small pool. The reason solar covers end up in the shed unused is that they are a chore to remove by hand. A reel lets one person roll the cover off in under a minute, which is the difference between using it daily and never using it. For a full-size in-ground pool, plan on a reel from the start.
Pull it off for shock and high chlorine. High chlorine and shock degrade the cover's plastic quickly. Remove the blanket before you superchlorinate and leave it off until the level comes down. Pairing a cover with a pool heater roughly doubles what the heater achieves, since most heat is lost from the surface.
How we picked
This is a research-based guide comparing cover thickness, sizing, heat-retention claims, and a broad set of owner reviews across the major solar-cover brands. We do not take payment for placement and have not bench-tested every cover, so confirm the size and shape for your pool before buying.
Keep your water right, too
Gear handles the cleaning; chemistry is the other half. Useful next: best pool heaters, pool volume calculator, all calculators.
Frequently asked questions
Are solar pool covers worth the money?
For most pools, yes. A solar cover is the cheapest heating upgrade you can buy and it cuts evaporation by up to 95 percent, which is where most overnight heat and water loss goes. The catch is that it only pays off if you actually use it, so the real cost to consider is a reel for a larger pool. If you will leave a heavy blanket in the shed, a liquid cover or solar rings are a more honest fit.
How much warmer will a solar cover make a pool?
A solar cover can raise water temperature by roughly 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit over time, with the biggest effect being that it stops the overnight cooling that normally undoes a sunny day. The gain depends on your sun, how many hours the cover is on, and your climate. Used with a pool heater, it roughly doubles the heater's effect by holding the heat in.
Do you run the pool pump with the solar cover on?
You can run the pump with the cover on; the cover floats on the surface and does not interfere with circulation. Many owners run the pump on its normal schedule and only remove the cover to swim. The one time to take it off is when you shock or superchlorinate, because high chlorine degrades the cover plastic.
How long does it take for a solar pool cover to work?
You will see the overnight heat loss stop immediately, but meaningful warming builds over a few sunny days of keeping the cover on whenever the pool is not in use. The more hours per day the cover is on, the faster the water warms. Leaving it off during the day throws away most of the benefit.
Should the bubbles face up or down?
Bubbles face down, toward the water. The bubbles trap heat against the surface and keep the cover floating, with the smooth side up to the sun. Floating it bubble-side up still provides some benefit but is not how the cover is designed to run.
How long does a solar cover last?
Expect roughly 3 to 5 years for a thicker 12 to 16-mil cover and less for thin 8-mil blankets. Life is shortened mainly by strong UV and by leaving the cover on during shocking, when high chlorine breaks down the plastic. Storing it out of direct sun when off the pool for long stretches helps it last.