| The pond itself is an energy storage basin if it’s handled right. It won’t work to use solar by itself unless it’s to keep the pond at somewhat of a higher temperature. The beast way to use solar is to compliment a heater. The solar unit can be used to raise the temperature a few degrees and the heater can be used to keep it from dropping more than a few degrees.
I don’t see heating as a worthy thing unless it’s used to shorten the spring warm up from a few months to a few weeks. The spring warm up is most valuable as it shortens the period when bacterial colonies are rampant but immunities are yet to become functional. In the fall, the pond can be heated to slow down the cooling and extend the season.
The fall cool down is dealing with koi whose immune response is functioning so its value is much less other than to shorten the winter period itself. The only time I see that as a benefit is in the first two years of growth, after that long growing seasons won’t help that much.
The concept of using a glass covered solar panel air space is an idea put forward by some 8 year olds in a contest. Who said today’s kids are wasting their time. It not only heats the air but it cools the panel and allows it to operate more efficiently |