22 Apr Advantages and Disadvantages of Motorised Retractable Pool Covers

Advantages

Ease of Use

The main reason people opt for a motorised pool cover is because they are so easy to use. Most open and close in seconds with the press of a button or the turn of a key.

Frequent Use

Because they are so easy to use motorised pool covers owners actually use them and gain all the benefits that their use provides. All too often people purchasing pool covers that they need to manually lift on and off the pool simply don’t use the pool cover. In some instances manual pool cover owners use the pool far less because it is just too much hard effort to manually uncover and recover a swimming pool.

Safety

If you obtain an automatic pool cover from a reputable company your automatic pool cover will provide you with a greater level of safety against drowning than any other pool cover could provide. A quality pool cover will effectively seal the pool closed and this provides parents with a much greater sense of ease regarding the safety of their children. A quality motorised pool cover can also withstand a great deal of weight. This means that if your child does actually walk over the pool cover there is still little chance of them drowning.

Flexibility

An electric pool cover can be installed after a pool and deck has been built. The cover can be installed on-top of existing decks or under the edge of the pool’s coping. If a pool cover is built in during the construction of your pool it will mean that cover will glide flawlessly under the pool coping, providing the best option of all.

Cleanliness

As an electrical pool cover provides a much better fit than other types of pool covers you will find that you are able to keep your pool much cleaner with less maintenance as the retractable cover effectively seals out all dirt and leaves.

Disadvantages

Expense

The major downside of a motorised pool cover is the high cost of purchasing and installing the system. You can however partly balance this out with the savings you make on heating your pool, on less chemical supplies and on pool maintenance. Also the safety factor is extremely important and it’s hard to put a dollar value on ensuring the safety of your children. You can expect to pay between $5,000 to $10,000 for the supply and installation of an electrical pool system.

Not Suitable for all Pools

The second drawback of electrical pool covers is that they are not suited to all pool shapes. Electrical pool covers need straight tracks so are not really an option for some freeform pool shapes or irregular surfaced decking or those pools with multiple levels. Some pools too just do not have large enough decks for the motorised pool system to be installed.

Potential for Repairs

The last potential disadvantage of an automated pool cover is that it is a fairly complex system and over time it is possible that one or more parts of the system would fail. This would mean that you would have to pay for the repair, assuming it happens out of the warranty period. Obviously when you have a pool cover that you are manually pulling across the pool there is no likelihood of any additional repairs, only replacement of the blanket after a number of years.

Advantages vs the Disadvantages

In general, if you are able to raise the funds to pay for a motorised pool cover we highly recommend that you do so. The advantage of an electrical pool cover far outweigh the disadvantages specifically the high level of safety that these systems provide.

So if it comes to the choice of a nice family holiday or a motorised pool cover, we suggest you have the pool cover system installed and spend your holiday around your pool at home instead.

If you would like to talk to us about a motorised pool cover or a pool blanket please contact us