Our perspective on

17 main requirements for a pool cover

What do you expect from a pool cover? There are some requirements that may be as important to you as they are for us. The following 17 points will demonstrate our most important aspects to you:

01. Safety for children

A full protection against drowning will certainly never be possible. However, when designing the pool enclosure, all precautions must be taken to prevent children from drowning. The cover must be at least strong enough to allow children up to 5 years of age to crawl, stand or walk on it. Children might be in high danger if a cover should collapse under weight load.

02. Swimming under the open Sky

Swimming under the open sky is a great experience. Any elements of a swimming pool roof that hang above the basin create an "indoor swimming pool character". The view above should be completely undisturbed. Therefore, it should be possible to remove all parts of a pool enclosure.

03. Protection against dirt and small animals

A roofing should also protect the swimming pool from dirt. Although it can never be completely avoided, contaminants from the air such as dust, leaves or flying flowers should not get into the water when the pool cover is removed. This saves a significant amount of time and effort.
Worms, salamanders or mice are just as undesirable in pool water. Small animals from the surrounding environment should not find entrance to the swimming pool.

04. Pets should not have access to the pool.

Your own pets and those of your neighbours should not have access to your swimming pool. In most cases animals cannot climb out of the water on their own. Consequently, this represents a deadly danger for these animals.

05. Good heat insulation: with some additional heating you can swim throughout the year.

Considering the rising energy costs over the last years, swimming pool roofs must be able to maintain the water temperature even in cold nights. The aim is to avoid additional heating with fossil fuels. The insulation value of the entire roof construction should not allow a significant drop in temperature all year long. Combined with a solar heating system or an air heat pump, the water temperature must not drop below 18° C in April and October.

06. Using solar radiation to heat the water

The greenhouse effect must contribute to the heating of the swimming pool. Sun rays hitting the pool enclosure must heat the space between the water and the pool cover to heat the water.

07. Protection against cool down by water during rainy days

Rainwater may not enter the pool. The significantly colder water would allow the temperature in the pool to cool down and at the same time rinse dirt such as leaves or dust into the pool water.

08. Prevention from evaporation

Considering the energy balance of liquids, the so-called "evaporation energy" (evaporation heat) is an often underestimated factor. The narrower the gap between the pool cover and the water, the smaller the evaporation energy and thus the temperature loss of the water due to evaporation.

09 Removing the pool cover completely in midsummer (July, August)

During the summer months you should be able to fully remove the hood. The temperature of the water will not cool down significantly at night during this time of year. In the daytime the pool will heat up again. So there must be a possibility to enjoy your pool without any cover during the summer and vacation season. Swimming and diving in should be possible at any time. The visual centre of the garden should be fully visible during the day as well as in the evening with illuminated water.

10. Electric or simple manual opening/closing of the enclosure

The pool cover must be easy to open.
In the case of an automatic electrically operated version, however, a well conceived system must be in place to protect the pool against unauthorised opening. A special key switch, for example, must be provided to prevent children from opening the roof by themselves. In this case, the question of where to place the key should clarified first. All family members must then consistently ( = always, to 100 %) place the key in its location.
A manual option must simply be feasible for all family members aged 8 and above. The pool cover should not be openable (poka yoke) by children under the age of 8. The Poka Yoke principle can be used to ensure that unauthorised opening by children can be avoided. The question of the ideal, childproof place for the key does not even arise this way.

11. Swimming under the canopy must be possible even in rainy weather

For athletes, swimming is part of their workout. Therefore, swimming in the garden must be possible regardless if the weather is good or bad. The ideal situation is when you can swim under the roof.

12. No guiding elements on the ground when the canopy is opened

When opening the pool enclosure, no elements should remain on the edge of the pool. Sliding rails, eyelets or other fastening elements often pose a risk of tripping and injury. After all, summer should not begin with a blue toe. In addition, rails and other fastenings are usually dirt traps.

13. Lowering the amount of care products necessary (e.g. chlorine)

Chlorine is evaporating. The detergents should not escape the water when the cover is closed.

14 The pool roofing should be usable all year round (snow load!).

The load-bearing capacity of the pool cover must bear the static load of the snow. The sweeping or clearing of snow after snowfall in winter requires people to be present at all times and therefore carries a risk. Installing load-bearing elements over the winter is always associated with the risk of damaging the swimming pool foil, especially in case of foil pools.

15 Weather resistance means many years of use

Wear is natural. The pool enclosure must be resistant to aggressive care products such as chlorine. Permanent contact with water must be avoided.

16. Inexpensive to purchase

Quality certainly has its price. However, the purchase price may only be a part of the cost of the swimming pool. You are looking for a pool cover that offers the sum of all properties at the best price.

17. Appearance

An attractive optical appearance, in closed and open condition. After all, the pool is the focal point of your garden arrangement.