6 guides
Automatic Pool Covers & Safety
Planning, comparison and specification guides for automatic pool cover systems, including tracks, drives, housings, drainage, fabrics, controls and safety limits.
Project stages
Plan your pool project by stage
Plan
Requirements, sizing, budget and the design brief.
Start planning
Design
Structure, plumbing, equipment room and safety systems.
See the design
Specify
Pumps, filters, sanitization, automation and covers.
Review equipment
Build
Construction sequence, coordination and checklists.
View the sequence
Operate
Maintenance, energy use, spares and failure prevention.
Keep it running
Renovate
Upgrades, retrofits and adding systems to existing pools.
Plan a retrofitExplore by subject
Core topics
1 guide
Commercial & Hospitality Pools
Planning guides for hotel, resort, community and commercial swimming pools, covering plant rooms, equipment redundancy, bather load, maintenance access and handover.
5 guides
Pool Equipment & Automation
Swimming pool circulation, filtration, sanitization, heating and automation guides explaining how the system works and how to size and specify each component.
3 guides
Pool Planning & Construction
Guides for planning a new swimming pool, covering requirements, design briefs, shell decisions, plumbing layout, equipment rooms and construction coordination.
1 guide
Pool Renovation & Retrofit
Guides for renovating existing pools and upgrading equipment, including scope planning, plumbing retrofits, resurfacing coordination and adding new systems to old pools.
3 guides
Procurement & Specifications
Buyer-side guides for specifying and sourcing pool equipment, including RFQs, bills of materials, quote comparison, technical submittals, spare parts and project acceptance.
Featured topic
Automatic pool cover planning center
Guide
Complete Automatic Pool Cover Guide
What an automatic pool cover system includes, how the main configurations differ, and how to plan one for a new build or an existing pool.
Comparison
Hydraulic vs Electric Cover Drives
How hydraulic and electric automatic pool cover drives differ in power, duty cycle, motor placement, maintenance and cost, with selection criteria for each.
Comparison
Undertrack vs Toptrack Covers
How undertrack and toptrack automatic pool cover systems differ in looks, construction requirements, cost and retrofit feasibility, with a decision framework.
Guide
New Build vs Retrofit Pool Covers
What changes when an automatic pool cover is designed into a new pool versus added to an existing one; housings, tracks, drainage, power and cost.
Original reference
The pool equipment system map
- Pool Shell
- Skimmers / Main Drains / Returns
- Pump
- Filter
- Heating
- Sanitization
- Automation
- Pool Cover & Safety Systems
Every component in a pool is part of one circulation loop. Sizing any stage in isolation creates problems in the next — the system overviewexplains how the stages depend on each other.
Commercial & hot-climate projects
Hotels, resorts and high-heat environments
Guide
Pool Covers for Hot, Dusty Climates
How high heat, intense UV and dust change automatic pool cover selection; fabric life, motor stress, housing drainage and maintenance planning.
Guide
Pool Equipment for Hot Climates
How heat, dry air, dust and hard water change pool equipment selection; pumps, filters, sanitization, heating, covers and plant-room detailing.
Guide
Hotel and Resort Pool Planning Guide
Planning guidance for hotel and resort pools; code-driven turnover, plant room redundancy, bather load, maintenance access, covers and handover documentation.
Work with the material
Tools and templates
Calculator
Pool Volume Calculator
Estimate swimming pool volume from length, width, depth or diameter in metric or imperial units. A planning tool, not a certified engineering calculation.
Template
Pool Cover Measurement Sheet
A structured measurement sheet for automatic pool cover quotations; pool dimensions, diagonals, coping, obstacles, housing space, power and drainage.
Template
Pool Equipment RFQ Template
A copy-ready request-for-quotation template for pool equipment packages; project data, schedule, documentation requirements and a bidder response format.
Template
Pool Equipment RFQ Guide
How to write a pool equipment request for quotation; scope definition, drawings, bill of materials, documentation requirements and comparable pricing.
Recently published
Latest research
commercial pools
Hotel and Resort Pool Planning Guide
Planning guidance for hotel and resort pools; code-driven turnover, plant room redundancy, bather load, maintenance access, covers and handover documentation.
pool covers
Automatic Pool Cover Components
The eight parts of an automatic pool cover system (fabric, tracks, drive, roller, housing, controls, drainage and accessories) and what to specify for each.
pool covers
Hydraulic vs Electric Cover Drives
How hydraulic and electric automatic pool cover drives differ in power, duty cycle, motor placement, maintenance and cost, with selection criteria for each.
pool covers
New Build vs Retrofit Pool Covers
What changes when an automatic pool cover is designed into a new pool versus added to an existing one; housings, tracks, drainage, power and cost.
pool covers
Pool Covers for Hot, Dusty Climates
How high heat, intense UV and dust change automatic pool cover selection; fabric life, motor stress, housing drainage and maintenance planning.
pool covers
Undertrack vs Toptrack Covers
How undertrack and toptrack automatic pool cover systems differ in looks, construction requirements, cost and retrofit feasibility, with a decision framework.
Editorial mission
Independent, specification-led guidance
Anglo American Pools publishes independent, specification-led guidance for planning and evaluating swimming pool systems. Our content distinguishes documented product capabilities, general engineering principles and project-specific considerations — and says clearly when a decision needs a qualified designer or contractor.