Sponsored by David Hoff, Inventor CEO
Water Conservation using Half Pool Covers
2009-01-27
WHITE PAPER: by David Hoff
Every year swimming pools are wasting BILLIONS of gallons of water that could be saved, and it's time to make a change. There is a better way for covering pools to save water, and this paper addresses what we can do about it. Half covers "are the solution" to water conservation.
HALF POOL COVERS in JUST 4 SIZES (14x14, 16x16, 18x18, 20x20) can be mixed-n-matched to work with almost all pools up to L-shapes (to take advantage of those COVER REBATES), and can revolutionize the way covers are stocked and distributed, never incurring oversize charges and allowing dealers to have covers in stock so pool owners never go home empty handed.
Why aren't all pools using a cover? The overwhelming limitation to cover usage is that historically the only device sold for handling pool covers has been the deck reel, an expensive bulky towel rack like device that sits at the end of the pool consuming valuable deck space. The problem with deck reels is they do not handle curvy free-form pool covers very well, or pools with limited or no deck space, but for the most part are only good for rectangular inground or oval/round aboveground pools. All the other custom free-form pools have been going without.
That said, as things stand today, less than 30% of all backyard swimming pools have a solution for taking the covers on and off the pool, which is much like having invented breakthrough inflatable rubber tires for the auto industry, but no jack to remove them with. And in the wake of water shortages and rationing in many parts of the country there is a pressing need to require pools to conserve water with a pool cover, yet nothing really has been offered as a practical solution for handling custom shaped covers.
For all those millions of pools without a jack, there is an innovative half-cover rolling device solution called the Solar Roller that can assist in the removal and handling of half pool covers for pools that can't use a deck reel. Because most custom free-form pools cannot use a traditional deck reel, many of those pool owners are already splitting their bulky pool covers to make them easier to remove by hand, and are doing so at the advice of pool shops who want to sell them a cover, but cannot sell them a reel. The Split-Cover System™ just takes this a step further and is completely different from anything on the market today.
Distribution of whole pool covers today is a nightmare for distributors because whole cover distribution requires a multitude of covers sizes to support the many different size pools out there.
Enabling custom shaped pools to use pool covers, the plan is to revolutionize the way bulky covers are distributed, lowering the cost for everyone and making stock on hand a top priority to solve the problem with special ordering or waiting for a cover to come in stock.
Just Four Sizes: Employing the revolutionary strategy to provide half pool covers can solve this problem to support the majority of pools under 20x40ft. This is because with half pool covers there need only be the four sizes (14x14, 16x16, 18x18, 20x20) which can be mixed and matched to each half of the pool. Furthermore, because the Split-Cover System™ rolls half the cover at a time, online internet retailers can also now ship the lighter more compact half cover sizes, avoiding dreaded overcharges due to weight, so shipping costs are predicable and controllable. Plus stores can provide the roller that currently ships coast-to-coast at under $12 compared to high shipping costs required for the heavier and bulkier deck reels which moreover require two boxes. For anyone doing business over the internet, shipping lighter and more compact 1/2 pool covers alone is a remarkable dollar saving breakthrough.
Out of the Warehouse and Into the Stores: In addition, for retail stores pool cover stock sizes can be reduced from a multitude of covers sizes, that must be special ordered from the warehouse and delivered next day or longer if on back order, to just four sizes that can easily be stocked right at the store. With the half cover distribution model, retailers can now have "stock on hand" for immediate purchase. Having stock on hand should also substantially increase cover sales helping people more than ever have a warm pool, but most important, conserve water and chemicals.
Conservation is the Goal: This way the half cover distribution model will be doing it's part to conserve water and support the cause of many water starved communities (such as Las Vegas and others) that are water rationing and promoting pool covers through rebates so consumers will do the right thing and cover their pools.
Leading the Way: Efforts to change the way pools are covered will revolutionize the distribution and stocking of pool covers, leading the industry to change it's distribution model which will dramatically conserve precious water. In the half cover distribution world, retailers and wholesalers will never be out of stock utilizing the revolutionary "just in time" stock on hand distribution model. Retail stores will more than ever have an incentive and the ability to stock covers at the store for immediate sale, rather than special order from the warehouse requiring customers to come back for pickup, and Wholesalers will move more inventory out of the warehouse and into stores. The customer will be able to get what they want, when they want it. And the warehouse will benefit because they can enjoy the same profit margins, but move stock immediately out to retailers rather than waiting for delivery in their space constrained warehouses.
Water agencies realizing the great value of pool covers to save water are beginning to offer rebates toward the purchase of a pool cover. For instance, Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) offers a $50 rebate for pool covers. Better yet, on the international stage Australia offers their people a $200 rebate program toward a cover and roller system.
Getting the Word Out: In light of the pressing need for pool covers, the greatest need is to inform everyone that the concept of using "whole pool covers" to cover the entire pool severely limits the distribution of covers, and also requires the consumer to purchase an expensive and awkward deck reel, or remove the cover by hand; emphasizing too that this solution only works on less than 30% of pools substantially limiting "use" of covers. Conversely, using the Split-Cover System, almost all pools can now use a cover, and is more cost effective for everyone resulting in higher sustainable sales for the industry overall.
A few years ago an alternative product called Sun Rings came into the market and many retail and online stores are carrying them, but a typical pool needs 10-15 rings at over $30/ea, the rings can bunch up at the end of the pool on windy days, are slow to fish out of the pool one at a time, and according to some retailers have thus experienced a higher customer return rate. On the other hand, the half cover system has a high customer satisfaction rate. It's easy to see then that whole covers are too big, Sun Rings are too small, and half covers are just right.
Current water shortages in parts of the nation, especially as mentioned in the western US areas like Las Vegas, are requiring communities to be on year round water restrictions and may potentially drive the increased demand and expansion of the pool cover market. Programs such as Water Smart in the Las Vegas area, and Water Sense sponsored by the EPA are dedicated to conservation. Additional programs by agencies offer pool cover REBATES at participating dealers.
To do it's part in the fight for water conservation nationwide, the half pool cover distribution model will greatly assist in supplying stores everywhere with just-in-time stock on hand. In this way over time we will be helping to save billions of gallons of wasted water nationwide, by facilitating the distribution of pool covers in a much needed and better way.
It takes about only 200 pools using a cover to save an entire city tank of water because a pool left unchecked for a year can completely evaporate... and that's a lot of wasted water!
Every year Billions of Gallons of City Water could be saved! Let's calculate the number of wasted city tanks of drinking water through evaporation by swimming pools.
SACRAMENTO: If using an average evaporation rate of 17,500 gallons/pool annually, it takes only 200 pools to waste an entire city tank of water. If Sacramento has over 50,000 pools, then Sacramento alone wastes 250 tanks of city water every year (or) 2,125,000,000 (that's BILLION) gallons of water every year!
What's that make you think about when they start rationing water and your lawn's going brown, while your bill's going up?
The 17,500 gallon/annual evaporation figure is probably conservative (other reports site 1.5"/week). Here are some evaporation figures for Australia (click here). Multiply liters by .264 to get gallons. One average states over 86,000 liters per year, or over 22,700 gallons annually evaporates from the pool.
NATIONWIDE: If the nation has around 8.5 million inground swimming pools, then nationally we waste 42,500 tanks of water every year. This amounts to 42,500(tanks) x 3,500,000(gals) = 148,750,000,000 gallons of water annually in the US alone. Again, that's BILLIONS!
ABOVEGROUND POOLS TOO! Now approximate an additional 30% for aboveground pools to add another 45 billion gallons of water wasted and we are looking at almost 200 Billions gallons of water annually in the US ... WASTED. If you say "so what" to water conservation, think about the cost of energy used to process and create drinking water!
WORLDWIDE: Now think worldwide and help get the word out that 1/2 pool covers are the SOLUTION for WATER CONSERVATION because Half Covers work on almost ALL POOLS...
The key to the innovative half cover solution is the Split-Cover System™ that rolls half the cover at a time, so almost all pools up to L-shapes are able use a pool cover. The patented system comes with two individual free-floating rollers that are fastened directly to the underside of the buoyant half covers, each roller spanning the middle of each half cover. Custom locking fasteners are used that button the rollers to the covers and are removable if you wish to detach the covers in the off season. The lightweight free-floating adjustable length rollers span across the middles of each half cover (similar to how reels are placed across the middle of a round pool) but are directly fastened to the underside of the cover. The rollers are supported entirely by the buoyancy of the cover, so nothing attaches to the pool and is completely free-floating with the cover.
To operate the system, the customer just pops on a removable crank handle to one end of the roller tube to begin the rolling process. By turning the crank, the roller pulls both ends of the cover into the middle to wrap around itself right on the water, resulting in nice compact floating roll that, once the water drains from the end, weighs less than 30 lbs (about the weight of a 3 year old), so is compact and easy to handle. When not in use the device is completely hidden so is not an eye sore to your beautiful backyard pool setting that you paid so much for.
In short, this innovative split cover remedy adapting half pool covers to so many pools requires no deck space, accommodates almost any shape pool up to L-shape pools, is light/compact and completely hidden, and is easy enough to roll a cover in under thirty seconds. The switch to half pool covers endeavors to help the millions of custom pool owners by providing them a practical solution and a choice they never had before to help us all do a better job at conserving precious water.
Please provide your comments and suggestions on how to get more agencies to provide pool cover rebates.
Thank you, David Hoff
WHITE PAPER: by David Hoff
Revolutionary Use of Half Pool Covers
Every year swimming pools are wasting BILLIONS of gallons of water that could be saved, and it's time to make a change. There is a better way for covering pools to save water, and this paper addresses what we can do about it. Half covers "are the solution" to water conservation.
HALF POOL COVERS in JUST 4 SIZES (14x14, 16x16, 18x18, 20x20) can be mixed-n-matched to work with almost all pools up to L-shapes (to take advantage of those COVER REBATES), and can revolutionize the way covers are stocked and distributed, never incurring oversize charges and allowing dealers to have covers in stock so pool owners never go home empty handed.
The Problem with Whole Covers is Solved using Half Covers
Why aren't all pools using a cover? The overwhelming limitation to cover usage is that historically the only device sold for handling pool covers has been the deck reel, an expensive bulky towel rack like device that sits at the end of the pool consuming valuable deck space. The problem with deck reels is they do not handle curvy free-form pool covers very well, or pools with limited or no deck space, but for the most part are only good for rectangular inground or oval/round aboveground pools. All the other custom free-form pools have been going without.
That said, as things stand today, less than 30% of all backyard swimming pools have a solution for taking the covers on and off the pool, which is much like having invented breakthrough inflatable rubber tires for the auto industry, but no jack to remove them with. And in the wake of water shortages and rationing in many parts of the country there is a pressing need to require pools to conserve water with a pool cover, yet nothing really has been offered as a practical solution for handling custom shaped covers.
For all those millions of pools without a jack, there is an innovative half-cover rolling device solution called the Solar Roller that can assist in the removal and handling of half pool covers for pools that can't use a deck reel. Because most custom free-form pools cannot use a traditional deck reel, many of those pool owners are already splitting their bulky pool covers to make them easier to remove by hand, and are doing so at the advice of pool shops who want to sell them a cover, but cannot sell them a reel. The Split-Cover System™ just takes this a step further and is completely different from anything on the market today.
The Industry Change to Half Cover Distribution
Distribution of whole pool covers today is a nightmare for distributors because whole cover distribution requires a multitude of covers sizes to support the many different size pools out there.
Enabling custom shaped pools to use pool covers, the plan is to revolutionize the way bulky covers are distributed, lowering the cost for everyone and making stock on hand a top priority to solve the problem with special ordering or waiting for a cover to come in stock.
Just Four Sizes: Employing the revolutionary strategy to provide half pool covers can solve this problem to support the majority of pools under 20x40ft. This is because with half pool covers there need only be the four sizes (14x14, 16x16, 18x18, 20x20) which can be mixed and matched to each half of the pool. Furthermore, because the Split-Cover System™ rolls half the cover at a time, online internet retailers can also now ship the lighter more compact half cover sizes, avoiding dreaded overcharges due to weight, so shipping costs are predicable and controllable. Plus stores can provide the roller that currently ships coast-to-coast at under $12 compared to high shipping costs required for the heavier and bulkier deck reels which moreover require two boxes. For anyone doing business over the internet, shipping lighter and more compact 1/2 pool covers alone is a remarkable dollar saving breakthrough.
Out of the Warehouse and Into the Stores: In addition, for retail stores pool cover stock sizes can be reduced from a multitude of covers sizes, that must be special ordered from the warehouse and delivered next day or longer if on back order, to just four sizes that can easily be stocked right at the store. With the half cover distribution model, retailers can now have "stock on hand" for immediate purchase. Having stock on hand should also substantially increase cover sales helping people more than ever have a warm pool, but most important, conserve water and chemicals.
Conservation is the Goal: This way the half cover distribution model will be doing it's part to conserve water and support the cause of many water starved communities (such as Las Vegas and others) that are water rationing and promoting pool covers through rebates so consumers will do the right thing and cover their pools.
Leading the Way: Efforts to change the way pools are covered will revolutionize the distribution and stocking of pool covers, leading the industry to change it's distribution model which will dramatically conserve precious water. In the half cover distribution world, retailers and wholesalers will never be out of stock utilizing the revolutionary "just in time" stock on hand distribution model. Retail stores will more than ever have an incentive and the ability to stock covers at the store for immediate sale, rather than special order from the warehouse requiring customers to come back for pickup, and Wholesalers will move more inventory out of the warehouse and into stores. The customer will be able to get what they want, when they want it. And the warehouse will benefit because they can enjoy the same profit margins, but move stock immediately out to retailers rather than waiting for delivery in their space constrained warehouses.
Potential Market Expansion
Water agencies realizing the great value of pool covers to save water are beginning to offer rebates toward the purchase of a pool cover. For instance, Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) offers a $50 rebate for pool covers. Better yet, on the international stage Australia offers their people a $200 rebate program toward a cover and roller system.
Getting the Word Out: In light of the pressing need for pool covers, the greatest need is to inform everyone that the concept of using "whole pool covers" to cover the entire pool severely limits the distribution of covers, and also requires the consumer to purchase an expensive and awkward deck reel, or remove the cover by hand; emphasizing too that this solution only works on less than 30% of pools substantially limiting "use" of covers. Conversely, using the Split-Cover System, almost all pools can now use a cover, and is more cost effective for everyone resulting in higher sustainable sales for the industry overall.
A few years ago an alternative product called Sun Rings came into the market and many retail and online stores are carrying them, but a typical pool needs 10-15 rings at over $30/ea, the rings can bunch up at the end of the pool on windy days, are slow to fish out of the pool one at a time, and according to some retailers have thus experienced a higher customer return rate. On the other hand, the half cover system has a high customer satisfaction rate. It's easy to see then that whole covers are too big, Sun Rings are too small, and half covers are just right.
Water Conservation Programs & Rebates
Current water shortages in parts of the nation, especially as mentioned in the western US areas like Las Vegas, are requiring communities to be on year round water restrictions and may potentially drive the increased demand and expansion of the pool cover market. Programs such as Water Smart in the Las Vegas area, and Water Sense sponsored by the EPA are dedicated to conservation. Additional programs by agencies offer pool cover REBATES at participating dealers.
To do it's part in the fight for water conservation nationwide, the half pool cover distribution model will greatly assist in supplying stores everywhere with just-in-time stock on hand. In this way over time we will be helping to save billions of gallons of wasted water nationwide, by facilitating the distribution of pool covers in a much needed and better way.
It takes about only 200 pools using a cover to save an entire city tank of water because a pool left unchecked for a year can completely evaporate... and that's a lot of wasted water!
Water Loss Calculation
Every year Billions of Gallons of City Water could be saved! Let's calculate the number of wasted city tanks of drinking water through evaporation by swimming pools.
SACRAMENTO: If using an average evaporation rate of 17,500 gallons/pool annually, it takes only 200 pools to waste an entire city tank of water. If Sacramento has over 50,000 pools, then Sacramento alone wastes 250 tanks of city water every year (or) 2,125,000,000 (that's BILLION) gallons of water every year!
What's that make you think about when they start rationing water and your lawn's going brown, while your bill's going up?
The 17,500 gallon/annual evaporation figure is probably conservative (other reports site 1.5"/week). Here are some evaporation figures for Australia (click here). Multiply liters by .264 to get gallons. One average states over 86,000 liters per year, or over 22,700 gallons annually evaporates from the pool.
NATIONWIDE: If the nation has around 8.5 million inground swimming pools, then nationally we waste 42,500 tanks of water every year. This amounts to 42,500(tanks) x 3,500,000(gals) = 148,750,000,000 gallons of water annually in the US alone. Again, that's BILLIONS!
ABOVEGROUND POOLS TOO! Now approximate an additional 30% for aboveground pools to add another 45 billion gallons of water wasted and we are looking at almost 200 Billions gallons of water annually in the US ... WASTED. If you say "so what" to water conservation, think about the cost of energy used to process and create drinking water!
WORLDWIDE: Now think worldwide and help get the word out that 1/2 pool covers are the SOLUTION for WATER CONSERVATION because Half Covers work on almost ALL POOLS...
About the Rolling Device
The key to the innovative half cover solution is the Split-Cover System™ that rolls half the cover at a time, so almost all pools up to L-shapes are able use a pool cover. The patented system comes with two individual free-floating rollers that are fastened directly to the underside of the buoyant half covers, each roller spanning the middle of each half cover. Custom locking fasteners are used that button the rollers to the covers and are removable if you wish to detach the covers in the off season. The lightweight free-floating adjustable length rollers span across the middles of each half cover (similar to how reels are placed across the middle of a round pool) but are directly fastened to the underside of the cover. The rollers are supported entirely by the buoyancy of the cover, so nothing attaches to the pool and is completely free-floating with the cover.
To operate the system, the customer just pops on a removable crank handle to one end of the roller tube to begin the rolling process. By turning the crank, the roller pulls both ends of the cover into the middle to wrap around itself right on the water, resulting in nice compact floating roll that, once the water drains from the end, weighs less than 30 lbs (about the weight of a 3 year old), so is compact and easy to handle. When not in use the device is completely hidden so is not an eye sore to your beautiful backyard pool setting that you paid so much for.
In short, this innovative split cover remedy adapting half pool covers to so many pools requires no deck space, accommodates almost any shape pool up to L-shape pools, is light/compact and completely hidden, and is easy enough to roll a cover in under thirty seconds. The switch to half pool covers endeavors to help the millions of custom pool owners by providing them a practical solution and a choice they never had before to help us all do a better job at conserving precious water.
Please provide your comments and suggestions on how to get more agencies to provide pool cover rebates.
Thank you, David Hoff
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