Solar covers for inground pools
On a big pool the cover is the easy part. Getting it on and off every day is the part that decides whether you save anything.
Quick picks
Ranked for a full-size inground pool, where handling and deployment decide more than material does.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No photo Best overall for inground Sun2Solar 1600 Series Ultimate Blue Solar Cover The extra thickness earns its keep here, because an inground cover gets handled hard and daily. | An inground pool you cover most nights, every season | |
| 2 | No photo Best value Sun2Solar 1200 Series Crystal Clear Solar Cover Lighter to handle than 16 mil, which on a 16-by-32 is a genuine argument for it. | Most pools, most budgets — the default recommendation | |
| 3 | No photo Best on price at size Blue Wave 12-Mil Solar Blanket Stocks the large rectangles the premium brands often skip. | Buying on price within the 12-mil tier | |
| 4 | No photo Buy this too Blue Wave Solar Cover Reel On an inground pool the reel is not an accessory, it is what makes the cover get used. | Any inground pool with a cover you are not using enough | |
| 5 | No photo Worth a price check Doheny's 1600 Standard Series Blue Solar Cover The other 16-mil cover in the only published hands-on group. Nothing separates them on paper. | A 16-mil cover when the price beats Sun2Solar |
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
What actually changes when the pool is big
The physics does not change with pool size, but the economics and the ergonomics both do, in opposite directions.
The economics get better. Heat loss scales with surface area, so a 16-by-32 inground pool at 512 square feet is losing heat roughly twice as fast as a 15-foot round above-ground pool at 177 square feet. The dollar value of covering it is correspondingly larger, and a cover that pays for itself in a month on a small pool pays for itself in a fortnight on a big one.
| 16 ft x 32 ft x 5 ft average depth x 7.48 gal/ft³ | volume |
| = 19,149 gallons | |
| 19,149 x 8.33 x 3°F | overnight heat loss |
| = 478,533 BTU | |
| x 70% evaporation share | |
| = 334,973 BTU a night | the part a cover addresses |
About $3.60 a night on a heat pump, $9.50 on natural gas
Delivered-cost figures from our running-cost model. Your own overnight drop is two thermometer readings away and is the input that matters most.
The ergonomics get worse, and they get worse faster. A 16-by-32 cover in 16 mil is a large, heavy, wet, floppy object. Dry it is manageable; wet and full of leaves it is genuinely awkward, and it takes two people to fold without dragging it across the coping — which is what destroys covers.
The reel is not optional here
On an above-ground pool you can reasonably skip the reel. On a full-size inground pool you cannot, and the reason is not comfort. It is that every published saving figure assumes the cover is on the pool when the pool is not in use. A cover that requires a second person and five minutes gets used for two weeks in April and then does not get used again.
Thirty seconds alone with a reel versus five minutes and a helper is not a convenience difference. It is the difference between the several hundred dollars a season above and nothing. Reels, ranked.
Thickness at inground scale
Our general position is that thickness buys durability rather than heat, and the only published hands-on comparison in this category found no measurable heating difference across the 12-to-16-mil range. That conclusion still holds here, but the durability side of it matters more on an inground pool, because the cover is bigger, heavier, handled more often and dragged over more edges.
There is a real counter-argument for 12 mil at this size, and it is not about price: a 12-mil cover is lighter, and a cover you can actually manage is a cover that gets used. If the choice is a 16-mil cover you find a chore or a 12-mil cover you deploy every night, take the 12. The full thickness comparison lays out both sides.
Cutting to fit
Inground pools are rarely a clean rectangle. Roman ends, corner steps and freeform shapes are normal, and covers are deliberately sold oversized so you can trim to them. Lay the cover out on a warm day and let it relax for an hour before you cut anything — it will settle into shape, and a cover cut cold ends up short. Leave an inch or two of overhang; a cover cut flush pulls away from the edge as soon as there is any wind.
For steps and benches, cut around them rather than covering them. A cover that sits on a step gets walked on, and walked-on bubble film fails at exactly that spot.
Every pick, in detail
What each one publishes, what is good and bad about it, and — the section this category usually omits — what we could not judge without owning one.
Sun2Solar 1600 Series Ultimate Blue Solar Cover
The cover to buy if you intend to keep using it in five years. 16 mil is the thickest tier the category sells, and thickness on a solar cover buys durability rather than heat — Bob Vila measured every cover in its hands-on group at the same 4 to 5 degrees, from 12-mil clear to 16-mil blue. Pay the extra for the one that survives being dragged over the coping twice a day, not for a temperature difference that did not show up in the only published one-hour test in this category.
Best for An inground pool you cover most nights, every season
| Thickness | 16 milThe manufacturer publishes no retrievable specification sheet; figure is as listed at retail. | Retail listing |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Blue | Retail listing |
| Stated lifespan | 5 to 10 years for the 16-mil tierSwim University's published figure for 16-mil covers generally, not a Sun2Solar warranty statement. | Retail listing |
| Bubble side | Bubbles face the waterCategory-wide instruction, not brand-specific. The bubbles are the insulating layer and they have to touch the water. | Published standard |
4 to 5 degrees F in one hour
Claimed by Bob Vila, measured across all covers in their group. Conditions: One hour under 2pm sun on 89 to 92 degree F days. Source
Their figure was the same for every cover they put on the water. Read our reconciliation of what a one-hour reading actually measures before you plan around this number.
- Thickest tier sold, which is where the durability difference actually is
- Blue absorbs more of the incoming energy at the surface than clear does
- Cuts oversize to your pool shape with household scissors
- Heavy and awkward at 16 mil — a large inground cover is genuinely a two-person job without a reel
- Costs meaningfully more than the 12-mil version for no measured heating advantage
- Whether the seams hold up over five seasons of daily handling
- How the bubble layer survives repeated dragging over rough coping
- Whether the stated lifespan tier holds for this specific product line
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
Sun2Solar 1200 Series Crystal Clear Solar Cover
The value pick, and the one whose logic actually holds up. A clear cover transmits more sunlight into the body of the pool instead of absorbing it at the surface, and 12 mil is the point where lifespan stops being the limiting factor. Bob Vila measured this and the 16-mil blue at the same 4 to 5 degrees in an hour, so you are paying less for the same measured result and giving up some years of service life.
Best for Most pools, most budgets — the default recommendation
| Thickness | 12 milThe manufacturer publishes no retrievable specification sheet; figure is as listed at retail. | Retail listing |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Clear | Retail listing |
| Stated lifespan | 3 to 4 years for the 12-mil clear tierSwim University's published figure for 12-mil clear covers generally. | Retail listing |
| Bubble side | Bubbles face the water | Published standard |
4 to 5 degrees F in one hour
Claimed by Bob Vila, measured across all covers in their group. Conditions: One hour under 2pm sun on 89 to 92 degree F days. Source
- Clear transmits more light into the water instead of stopping it at the surface
- 12 mil is the sweet spot: real service life without 16-mil bulk
- Cheaper than the 16-mil tier with no measured heating penalty
- Shorter published lifespan tier than 16 mil
- A clear cover shows algae and debris more obviously, which some people dislike
- Whether clear genuinely outlasts or under-lasts blue in the same thickness
- Real-world tear resistance at a pool with rough edges
- How much the clear material clouds over a season of UV
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
Blue Wave 12-Mil Solar Blanket
A straightforward 12-mil blanket that competes on price and on the size range it comes in. The interesting thing about it is what it shares with everything else here: it was in the same hands-on group as the Sun2Solar covers and posted the same one-hour temperature change. If the price is better than the equivalent Sun2Solar on the day you look, there is nothing in the published evidence that says you are giving anything up.
Best for Buying on price within the 12-mil tier
| Thickness | 12 milThe manufacturer publishes no retrievable specification sheet; figure is as listed at retail. | Retail listing |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Blue | Retail listing |
| Shapes | Round and rectangular, wide size range | Retail listing |
| Bubble side | Bubbles face the water | Published standard |
4 to 5 degrees F in one hour
Claimed by Bob Vila, measured across all covers in their group. Conditions: One hour under 2pm sun on 89 to 92 degree F days. Source
- Often the cheapest way into the 12-mil tier
- Broad size range including the awkward rectangular dimensions
- Blue rather than clear, so more energy is absorbed at the surface
- No published specification sheet to compare against anything
- Whether the material is meaningfully different from other 12-mil blankets
- Seam and edge durability over multiple seasons
- Consistency between production runs
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
Blue Wave Solar Cover Reel
A reel is the single highest-leverage purchase in this whole category and almost nobody frames it that way. Every DOE saving figure assumes the cover is on the pool when the pool is not in use. A cover that takes two people and five minutes comes off on Friday and goes back on in October. A reel turns that into thirty seconds alone, which is the difference between the savings existing and not.
Best for Any inground pool with a cover you are not using enough
| Type | Wheeled above-ground-style reel for inground and above-ground useThe manufacturer publishes no retrievable specification sheet; figure is as listed at retail. | Retail listing |
|---|---|---|
| Why it matters | Converts a two-person five-minute job into a one-person thirty-second jobOur framing, not a manufacturer claim. The published savings all assume the cover is actually on. | Our arithmetic |
- Turns the cover into something you will genuinely use daily
- Keeps the cover off the ground, which is where covers get damaged
- Wheels, so it moves out of the way
- Costs a real fraction of what the cover itself costs
- Takes up deck space permanently
- Assembly is fiddly on every reel in this category
- How the tube and hardware hold up outdoors across seasons
- Whether the width range covers your pool without a wobble
- Assembly quality and hardware fit
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
Doheny's 1600 Standard Series Blue Solar Cover
The other 16-mil cover that turned up in the only published hands-on group in this category, and it posted the same one-hour reading as everything else in it. Worth a look if it undercuts Sun2Solar's 16-mil on the day, but there is no published specification from Doheny's that would let you compare the two on anything except price.
Best for A 16-mil cover when the price beats Sun2Solar
| Thickness | 16 milThe manufacturer publishes no retrievable specification sheet; figure is as listed at retail. | Retail listing |
|---|---|---|
| Color | Blue | Retail listing |
| Bubble side | Bubbles face the water | Published standard |
- In the thickest tier, where the durability difference actually is
- Frequently discounted against the better-known 16-mil covers
- Nothing published to compare it against Sun2Solar's 16-mil on material
- Availability is patchier than the bigger brands
- Any material difference from other 16-mil covers
- Seam construction and edge finishing
- Whether the size cut is generous or tight against the stated dimension
These need a unit in hand across a season. We do not have one, so we do not have an opinion worth printing on them.
#ad We earn a commission if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the ranking. How this site is funded. Prices last checked September 2, 2026.
Questions people actually ask
What thickness solar cover is best for an inground pool?
Do I need a reel for an inground pool?
How do I cover a freeform or Roman-end pool?
- U.S. Department of Energy pool-energy figures (evaporation share, BTU per pound evaporated, cover savings, recommended temperatures, wind effect)Recreonics, reproducing and attributing the U.S. Department of Energy · read 2026-09-02
- U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Saver: Swimming Pool Covers (archived — the live page now returns 404)U.S. Department of Energy via the Internet Archive · read 2026-09-02
- Hands-on solar cover comparison: 4 to 5°F measured in one hour of 2pm sun on 89–92°F days, with the method statedBob Vila · read 2026-09-02
- Solar cover guide: 0.7°F per hour under noontime sun, 10–15°F held, and published lifespan tiers by thicknessSwim University · read 2026-09-02
- Water density: 62.424 pounds per cubic foot at 39.2°FU.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School · read 2026-09-02
Every URL above was fetched and returned content on the date shown. Where a figure is ours rather than somebody else’s, the arithmetic is on the page and on the methodology page. If you find an error in it, we would genuinely like to know.
Read next
Solar pool covers worth buying
Ranked on the specifications that actually differ between covers — thickness tier and published lifespan — because the only hands-on test in this category found no heating difference at all.
Solar cover reels
Why a reel is the highest-leverage buy in pool heating, and which ones to look at. Thirty seconds alone versus five minutes and a helper decides whether a cover saves anything.
8, 12 or 16 mil: which solar cover thickness
Thickness buys years, not degrees. The published lifespan tiers, the cost per year of service, and the case for 12 mil on a large pool.
What size solar cover do I need?
Measuring for round, rectangular, oval and freeform pools, why you buy up rather than exact, and the above-ground nominal-diameter trap that catches people out.
Does a solar cover pay for itself?
The full payback derivation from one measurement you can take tonight, plus a sensitivity table for people whose pool is nothing like the example.