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In this type of solar system, your existing pool pump pushes pool water through the solar collector. The heat is then transferred directly to the pool water itself. 

A diverting valve controls when the water circulates through the collector loop. If the collector temperature is sufficiently higher than the temperature of the pool water, water is not sent through the collector so it does not continue to heat past your comfort lever. Water also bypasses the collectors during cloudy weather and at night via an automatic control. 

When the goal is to extend the swim season, heating the pool  with solar energy requires solar collectors that equal 65% to 85% of the surface area of the pool, depending upon the orientation of the panels. 

In addition, adding more panels, i.e. more square feet of collectors, further lengthens the swimming season and allows your family  to use the pool in colder weather. A pool blanket also helps. 

Generally though, the DFW or North Texas pool season, even with solar and a pool blanket, ends sometime in November and does not start again until March. During the remaining months, the sun is "too weak" to heat your pool without some assistance from another (expensive) energy source such as electricity or natural gas. . 

In the summer, however,  pools get overly warm for some people during the day. If this is true for your family,  the collectors can be used to cool the water and offer you a really refreshing swim during the next day rather than a "bathtub" temperature..

Maintenance is minimal .The only moving part on a solar system for pools is the diverting valve. 

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