How to Choose a Pool Cover for Your NZ Pool
Updated: Aug 25
Pool covers come in a few distinct types, and each does a genuinely different job. Choosing the right one isn't about brand or colour — it comes down to how you heat your pool, the climate where you live, and what you most want the cover to achieve.
This guide walks through how the types compare, what we make, and how to match one to your pool.
Pool cover fabric, made in Auckland to your measurements.
Solar bubble covers
A solar cover floats directly on the water. During the day the sealed air pockets transmit and trap solar energy and pass it into the water below. At night the same sheet becomes a barrier across the surface, cutting evaporation and slowing the overnight temperature drop.
It's the only cover type that actively adds heat rather than just holding it, which is why it's the most common residential choice. The bubble side always faces down, against the water.
In our range:
Blue Solar Cover — 600 micron. The default choice for an outdoor pool that gets sun.
Clear and Silver Cover — 600 micron. Clear on top, reflective underneath. Passes more light into the water and reflects escaping heat back down.
Solar pool cover installed on an Auckland pool
Thermal foam covers
A thermal cover uses a closed-cell foam core between UV-stabilised films. It doesn't add solar heat the way a bubble cover does — it acts as a lid, holding in heat you've already paid a heater to generate.
That makes it the stronger performer overnight, on overcast days, and on pools in shaded or cooler positions. The foam also makes it heavier than a bubble cover, so a reel is worth having rather than optional.
In our range:
Thermal Cover — 3mm. Supplied with edge binding, haul cord, cords and eyelets to the reel, and a floating boom pocket as standard.
Thermal pool cover installed on an Auckland pool
Debris covers
Debris covers are mesh or solid covers whose job is to keep leaves, branches and dirt out of the pool. They sit above the water on fixings rather than floating, and they tension over the pool edge. They're not heat-retention covers — the value is protection and far less cleaning through low-use periods.
We don't make debris covers. If that's what you need, it's a different product from the two above and worth sourcing separately. Plenty of pools run both: a solar or thermal cover through the swim season, and a debris cover over winter.
What micron actually means
For bubble covers, thickness is measured in microns, and it's the specification that tells you most — more than colour, and more than the name on the packaging. A thicker sheet holds heat better and stands up to handling, sun and pool chemistry for longer.
Thin covers are widely sold as budget options. They cost less up front and they are usually the more expensive choice across five years, once earlier replacement and weaker day-to-day performance are counted.
Both our bubble covers are 600 micron. We don't stock a thinner grade, because on a custom-cut cover the fabric is the cheapest part of the decision to get right.
Thermal covers aren't measured in microns at all — they're foam, so thickness is in millimetres. Ours is 3mm.
Classic or Ultimate
Both bubble covers come in two finishes:
Classic — the cover on its own, cut to size. No edge binding, no fittings.
Ultimate — edge binding, haul cord, cords and eyelets to the reel, and a floating boom pocket.
If you're running the cover on a reel, you need the cords and eyelets. Ultimate includes them. Classic doesn't, so you'd add a cord and eyelet kit separately. The Thermal Cover is supplied in the Ultimate specification only.
Match it to your climate
Where you live shapes the choice.
In Auckland and the upper North Island, warm temperatures and wind drive evaporation across a long season, and a bubble cover suits most pools well.
In Wellington and on exposed coastal sites, wind accelerates both heat and water loss from the surface, which makes a well-fitted cover matter more rather than less.
In Canterbury, Central Otago and the south, colder nights and frost shift the balance toward a thermal cover, because the problem there is overnight retention rather than daytime gain.
Match it to how you heat
Your heating setup points to the answer too.
If you run a heat pump, gas or electric heater, you're paying to put heat into the water and the cover's job is to keep it there. Thermal holds it best.
If your pool is unheated and you want to stretch the swim season on free warmth, a bubble cover is the fit, because it adds heat rather than only retaining it.
What else to check before you buy
UV stabilisation, in writing. NIWA measures peak UV in New Zealand at approximately 40% greater than at comparable latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, so a cover specified for milder conditions is being asked to do more here than it was built for.
A cover cut to your pool, not trimmed to fit it. An off-the-shelf rectangle trimmed down to an oval leaves gaps, and every gap around the perimeter is where evaporation carries on. Ours are cut to the measurements you enter, with a 150mm allowance added to each dimension so the edge sits slightly up the pool wall.
Warranty terms, not a warranty headline. Ours is a 10-year pro rata warranty on covers and 3 years on reels — pro rata means the replacement cost is shared on a published schedule rather than free for ten years. The full schedule is on our Warranty page. Any supplier quoting a bare number without the schedule is quoting you half the term.
A reel, bought at the same time. A cover that's a hassle to handle stops getting used, and a cover that isn't used saves nothing. See Pool cover reels.
Getting a price
Enter your pool shape and measurements and you'll see a price for a cover made to fit it, with the reel and accessories priced alongside. Covers take 14 working days from payment, because every one is cut to order.
Delivery is free to North Island addresses and $50 flat to the South Island. Installation is $200 in Auckland; elsewhere we supply, and installation is by enquiry.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best pool cover? The one correctly specified for your pool. Fit, material grade and UV stabilisation decide performance far more than the name on it.
Solar or thermal for a heated pool? Thermal holds heat best overnight. Solar adds warmth from the sun and costs less up front. Heated pools in cooler or shaded positions usually favour thermal.
Do I need a different cover for summer and winter? No. One cover serves both seasons. Some owners add a separate debris cover for off-season leaf fall, which is a different product from the ones we make.
What micron should I choose? Both our bubble covers are 600 micron. Thinner grades are sold elsewhere as budget options and generally need replacing sooner.
What's the difference between Classic and Ultimate? Ultimate adds edge binding, haul cord, cords and eyelets to the reel, and a floating boom pocket. Classic is the cover on its own. If you're using a reel, choose Ultimate or add a cord and eyelet kit.
Can the cover be trimmed? Yes. Every cover is supplied with a 150mm allowance on each dimension, so first fit is minor adjustment with sharp scissors rather than real cutting.
How long does it take? 14 working days from payment. Nothing ships from stock — every cover is cut to order.
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