Should You Install A Pool Heater?

In these environmentally conscious times you may wonder if installing a pool heater is a good idea. Isn’t it just wasting energy, being environmentally unfriendly and at the same time very expensive?
Certainly these points need to be considered but a pool heater can greatly increase your enjoyment of your pool (and the investment in it) by making it useable all day and extending the "swimming season".
As well as the social aspects of having a pool it should be remembered that swimming is an excellent form of exercise especially for anyone who cannot undertake more strenuous forms of exercise. Heating a pool also makes it usable by young children and the elderly for whom cold water can be a problem.
In order to control your costs and use as little energy as possible you should consider the following:
· Type of Heater - This is probably the key decision. Currently pool heaters powered by gas are the best selling type (such as the Hayward H250 suitable for in ground pools or the Hayward H100 appropriate if you have an above ground pool) but they can be costly to run, particularly if you have to use propane. The best from an energy and running cost point of view are now electric heat pumps. Normal heaters can never be more than 100% efficient (gas heaters are about 80%) but heat pumps (such as those produced by Hayward, Jandy/Zodiac and Raypak) can be several hundred percent efficient (i.e. you get several times more energy out than you put in). This is because they are not actually generating heat they are moving it from one place (the surrounding air) to another (the pool water). Heat pump heaters are not as powerful as gas heaters so need to run for longer periods but they are still much cheaper to run.
· Pool Temperature - You want the water to be comfortable but don’t heat it any more than you need to. 78 degrees is often recommended.
· Use a Pool Cover when the pool is not in use - This is essential as a pool cover can reduce heat loss by 50%. It does this by preventing evaporation which is a major cause of cooling. The cover will also help preserve pool chemicals.
· Provide wind protection - Even a gentle wind can lower the pool temperature significantly.
· Proper Maintenance - Make sure the pool and its heating system is properly maintained.
If you follow the points above you will find that a pool heater is a very worthwhile investment.
　

What Type Of Pool Heater Is Best?

Once you have made the decision to buy a pool heater you then have to decide which of the types available you will go for. The main types are gas, solar and electric (mainly heat pumps) but even within these there are a number of choices to be made.
Gas Pool Heaters
These are the most common type and they have the advantage of being able to provide heat faster than other options as they are more powerful. Heaters for above ground pools such as the Pentair MiniMax (Click Here for info) are usually around 100k BTU whilst heaters for in-ground pools such as the Jandy LXi {Click Here for info) will typically have models with a capacity ranging up to 400k BTU. This is particularly useful if you heat the pool intermittently and therefore need to raise the temperature quickly.
Gas pool heaters are available to use natural gas or propane. Clearly natural gas would be the best choice if it is supplied on site or LPG might be a good option if you already store it for home heating. If you don't have a source of gas already available a gas heater might not be your best option.
Gas heaters are produced in both electronic ignition and millivolt models. Electronic models are micro processor controlled with electronic spark ignition like a modern boiler. Millivolt models use an older technology which uses a permanent pilot light and therefore is slightly less efficient. The heat from the pilot light is used to generate a small amount of electricity (about 500 millivolts - hence the name) which powers the controls. The former is the preferable option but it requires an electricity supply, if this is not possible a Millivolt heater is appropriate.
The major negative with gas heaters, especially those using LPG, is that they can be costly to operate.
Electric Pool Heaters
It is possible to buy a direct electric heater but these are really only suitable for small above ground pools.
These days the electric heat pump is becoming an increasing popular choice a good example is the Jandy Heat Pump (Click Here for info). Heat Pumps work by transferring heat from the surrounding air into the pool water, rather than generating heat themselves. In practice this means that you get several times more heat energy output than electricity energy consumed. Heat pumps are therefore more friendly to the environment than gas heaters, as well as costing less to run. In addition it is anticipated that they will have a longer useful life that gas models.
Of course there are disadvantages to heat pumps. They do not have the power of a gas heater and are slow to heat a pool, they work best when used to maintain a constant temperature. They also need a minimum air temperature of 45 degrees to work efficiently.
Solar Powered Heating Systems
These work by pumping the water through solar panels which are designed to collect solar energy. As a general rule the area of solar panels needed is the same as the surface area of the pool. Solar heating will probably be more expensive to purchase and install than other types but should have a longer lifetime and be less costly to operate. In addition it is the most environmentally friendly way of heating your pool.
There are more things that you need to address with a solar system if it is to work satisfactorily. These include the local climate, finding the best location, heeding local building codes and making sure the system is safe. In particular you are dependent of the weather so you need to be sure that your pool will be useable for the period you require.

How To Find Top Web Hosting

If you are setting up a web site (whether it is a business web site or a personal blog) to which you want to attract visitors, you need top web hosting. 

Having a site that is slow to load and is frequently down is a sure way to frustrate and lose visitors. Google now also looks at this in ranking sites. By using one of the large reputable web hosting services you should avoid such problems.

Don't consider free hosting, there is always a disadvantage and you will not get the level of support that a new user will need. Shared hosting, which is the entry level service, is not expensive and there are many good providers but also some that are not so good.

Finding the best web hosting for you can be difficult because there are many review sites, which make different recommendations. You might search out user comments but inevitably will find some complaints about every host (to be expected given the number of customers they have). I have looked through a lot of such comments and would say that the majority of negative reviews in one way or another relate to support (or lack of it).

 

To find the best service for you, you should to be clear what you need:

• Linux or Microsoft Hosting:- If your site is being built for you then your developers will specify the hosting required. Which you need will depend on the tools you will use to produce and run your site. If you do not have any specific requirements it is best to go for Linux hosting.
• Type of hosting (shared,VPS,dedicated server):- Whilst it is normal to start with shared hosting, if you expect your site to become busy, it is worth considering what upgrade path a host offers. With shared hosting many users are hosted on the same server and share the resources of that server. It is possible to put too many users on one server but reputable web hosts will not do this.
  
• Reliability and Speed:- If your site suffers from slow loading and frequent downtime then you will lose visitors. Your host should guarantee uptime in excess of 99.9%. To get an idea about loading speed you can look for any user comments and also look at the host's own site.
  
• Customer Support:- As noted above support is of key importance. Quality hosts will offer 24/7 support preferably with a toll free phone number in addition to chat and email.
  
• Resources:- For shared hosting you usually see unlimited website hosting offering unlimited resources including unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth.  Clearly "unlimited" is not possible as a server has finite resources. The host must exercise some control otherwise one user could take all the server resources. Having said that "unlimited" packages do keep it simple and server resources will not be an issue for a new site in the short term and may never be.
  
• Price:- You should only consider price after your other requirements have been met. Although there are pricing differences they are not great enough to be more important than the points above. You normally pay a number of months in advance (the more months the cheaper it is per month) but some providers will allow you to actually pay monthly.
  
  If you would like further help in finding web hosting please visit bestwebsitehost.biz for additional information.

Find The Best WordPress Hosting

Since it was introduced in 2003 WordPress has grown to power several million websites and is the most popular tool for blogging (when hosting your own blog). Whilst it was initially a platform for blogs it has evolved into a Content Management System which can be made to look and behave as you require without the need for any technical expertise.

Having decided to use WordPress you need to make the most of this by getting the best wordpress hosting.

It is not true to say that all hosting companies are the same. Whilst most Linux based hosting packages will run WordPress not all hosts make it easy to set-up and not all provide support if you have problems (as they see it as third party software).

What you need for best WordPress Hosting is a hosting provider which specifically advertises their support for WordPress and also has a good reputation for their service in general and their support in particular.

I am very happy to unreservedly suggest you go for HostGator. They exceed the technical requirements by running the most up to date versions of the supporting software (web server etc.) and running suPHP for best security. They also have "Quickinstall" which makes it easy to install WordPress with one click. In addition any existing WordPress site you presently host somewhere else (including at wordpress.com) will be transferred to HostGator for you free of charge. HostGator and WordPress are, as a result, a good match.

HostGator's shared web hosting packages include:

• An option to make monthly payments. However, inevitably the price is higher than when paying 12 months+ in advance. With HostGator you are not locked into a contract and can cancel whenever you like.
• A 45 day Money Back Guarantee - If for any reason you are not happy you can advise HostGator of your wish to cancel the hosting and get a refund of all the money paid.
• Guaranteed Site Availability - A minimum availability of 99.9% is guaranteed so you will not find that your site is not online except during planned maintenance.
• Unlimited resources such as storage, bandwidth, email addresses etc. But note that the entry level Hatchling plan is restricted to one domain.
• The Cpanel control panel for easy management of your sites and extras like a Google Adwords credit (US only).

A key reason why I consider that HostGator provide best WordPress Hosting is their 24/7/365 technical support. The first port of call is their website which answers many frequently asked questions and provides a forum for customer interaction. If you need to contact them you can do so anytime by phone (free in US), live chat or email. I have always found the support team to be very helpful.

HostGator Coupon Codes
HostGators coupon codes reduce the amount payable as you sign up. Here are two of the latest coupons you may wish to use:

• WORDPRESSCP1 reduces the first invoice by $9.94. This means that if you are going to pay monthly you get the first month for 1c.
• WORDPRESSCP25 reduces the first invoice by 25%. If you are paying a year or more in advance this gives a significant saving. In fact it reduces the lowest monthly equivalent price to $3.71.

For more information on Web Hosting please visit bestwebsitehost.biz

Are Gas Pool Heaters A Good Buy?

Whilst gas pool heaters are still very popular they are not as friendly to the environment as solar heating and heat pumps because they are considerably less energy efficient.
Against this we have to accept that lots of gas pool heaters are sold because they have advantages over the competition:

• Relatively cheap to buy and install - Whilst the cost will always depend of the size of heater required, models for above ground pools are available under $1000 and for in-ground pools under $1500. Installation can be done by anyone who is reasonably handy apart, of course, from the gas and electric connections which must be done by a competent professional.
• High capacity - One major benefit of gas pool heaters is that they have a high capacity (up to 400k BTU/hr for residential pools) and can therefore heat the water relatively quickly. This makes them the best option if you only heat your pool occasionally.
• Energy Efficiency - Most residential gas pool heaters now have an energy efficiency rating of between 80 and 85% a figure which has improved considerably in recent years. The top rating for a gas pool heater is presently 95% but whilst this saves on running costs you have to pay more for such an efficient heater.
• Reliable - Whilst gas heaters are constantly being improved the basic technology is well understood and tested. A properly maintained heater should give you many years of worry free pool heating.
• Not affected by the weather - A gas pool heater will operate in all weather conditions.

Ideally gas pool heaters should use natural gas but most ranges include versions for use with propane. This choice does not affect the performance of the heater but has a large impact on running costs. Propane can cost up to twice as much as natural gas so is never the preferred option.
Gas pool heaters are available in both electronic and millivolt versions. Electronic heaters are the most popular as they feature efficient electronic ignition and sophisticated digital controls. However to power these functions they need an electricity connection. If providing an electrical connection is a problem then the answer is a millivolt heater. These use a pilot light (which wastes some gas) and have simple controls but do not need electricity.
You can choose between popular models from all the major manufacturers including Raypak, Jandy (Laars) and Hayward.
The main competition these days comes from pool heat pumps. These cost considerably more, are less powerful, are electrically powered and don't work in very low temperatures. Their big advantage is that they move heat from the air to the water rather than generating it. This gives them an energy efficiency rating of several hundred percent and makes them cheap to run.
Although this article is about gas pool heaters it has to be said that a heat pump must be considered if you heat your pool all the time during the season. If you don't heat your pool constantly you will probably find that, taking into account up-front costs, running costs and heating power, a gas pool heater is the best option.

Blog Hosting Services

To allow you to create and run your own blog you will want web hosting for your blog. However you will not see this advertised specially, so you need a web hosting service which advertises support for the type of blog you want.
Before signing up with such a service you might just reflect on if a free blog created on one of the big blog websites like Google's Blogger, WordPress.com, Posterous or Tumblr would match your requirements. These permit you to rapidly set-up a blog however you don't gain the flexibility that is available with hosting your own.
The first aspect to consider is the domain name. You will need this name at the time you sign up for a web hosting service and will have to choose whether to register it via the hosting provider or with a third party registration service. In terms of the operation of your website it will not have any effect however, using a 3rd party registrar will probably make it simpler to move between hosting suppliers later, should this be necessary. Should you use the hosting company be sure that you own the domain and be aware that even if it is free (as it is bundled with the hosting) you will be required to pay the cost of this should you terminate the hosting, even during the period of any money back guarantee.
You'll find a variety of platforms you can utilize for a blog like Movable Type, Textpattern or Drupal (for larger blogs) but WordPress is probably the most prevalent. You will find a large number of plugins obtainable which means you are able to get your site to behave as you desire. Additionally, there are many themes to be had using which you are able to make the color scheme and layout of your blog as you want it. If you encounter any issues or want something different you will discover a lot of support accessible online as there's a big user community.
Having decided to set-up your personal blog you will need web hosting and you might consider utilizing free website hosting. For anyone who is a newbie to website hosting I should advise against this because there is invariably a draw back to free services. You cannot expect support to be anything other than basic, via email, nor can you anticipate any guarantees regarding downtime. Not only that but you are likely to have to set up your site manually which will be difficult if you don't have any experience of the process.
You are therefore best served by using one of the major companies the majority of which give technical support for blog software such as WordPress (however not all do so you need to do some research). A lot offer a One-Click, or similarly titled user friendly, installation process that means that you can have your blog up and running very quickly. Should you encounter any difficulties they will give support at any time.

Should You Use Solar Pool Heating?

Solar pool heating systems utilize the sun's energy to heat your pool. The key advantage here is that this energy is free of charge and in addition you are being friendly to the environment.

You will find additional advantages also:

• Does not require professional installation - Whilst solar pool heating can be installed professionally, kits are obtainable which suit both above ground and in ground pools and can be installed by a competent handyman. As there is no gas or electrical work concerned there is no need for these professionals. The key task is setting up the solar panels and locating these properly will be the prime factor in determining how effective the system is. These are normally positioned on a roof or on a frame slanting towards the sun.
• Minimal maintenance requirement - Once installed the a solar system requires little maintenance which compares favorably to gas heaters and heat pumps.
• Long lasting - A solar pool heater will last a long time and hence maximize the return on your investment. This is illustrated by the fact that some manufacturers offer fifteen year guarantees.

However there are a number of disadvantages to consider:

• Needs large area for solar collectors - As a rough guide the area of the solar collectors will be similar to the surface area of the pool. Even if you have a small pool this means that the solar collectors will take up a significant amount of room. Not only that but you may have little choice as to the positioning and this may spoil the appearance of the pool surroundings.
• Not as powerful as gas heater or heat pump - It has to be accepted that even in the best location the energy generated will not match that of a gas pool heater or heat pump. In addition it will be affected by the weather, whilst still working in overcast conditions the output will be reduced.
• Effectiveness highly dependent on correct conditions - The effectiveness of a solar pool heating system will depend on a number of factors including local temperature, wind, the amount of sunshine and particularly the orientation of the solar panels. To work at their best the solar collectors need to be facing south and not be shaded by trees or anything else at any time of day.
• Can be expensive - Most of the cost relates to the solar collectors and the number of these you need depends on the size of the pool. For an in ground pool it can work out more that a gas heater. Having said this the low on-going costs will make up for this in time.

Whether a solar pool heater will be effective for you really is dependent on your location and the period you wish to use your pool. Provided you can install your solar collectors in a good position and are not looking to extend your season into the colder months then you should give serious consideration to a solar pool heating system.