Solar Pool Heat

what is the law with owning and/or running a solar panel to create free energy in the tri state area ?… i mean i want to power all my out door lights by solar power, so i dont drain energy ..about more or less 1000 watts worth or light bulbs around the house and pool … im just concerned on how to go about this … i have everything i need just dont know if the government or law will get in the way.. i heard and read in couple articles that you have to be regulated with the solar energy you generate and consume ?? i dont understand (thought it was free?)
i dont want to be hooked up to the grid… rest of the house will be using regular power source… i just want to power the lights outside …. maybe place the panels on the garage roof with a power regulator and inverter and a rechargeable 12v battery maybe like 2-4 of em so all outside lights can be powered during night time at full power

The only thing that is really regulated is the installation. This site will help you out I think. (Look toward the bottom)
http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/solar_energy_facts.htm

Check the regs in the state you live in, and good luck. We’ve gone "Green" and it’s working out quite nicely.

What does the lighting from a solar powered light look like? I don’t like the fluorescent look of a light. Actually I can’t stand it. I would rather it look more natural like the sun. How much lighting do they actually put out?

I was thinking about getting these http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10848178

to go around my pool and maybe on the deck. I thought it would give a nice cozy resort type look.

Rocks, cool. Generally they are LED lights which are a brighter white light.

We recently purchased an above ground pool and want to buy a solar blanket to go over it. (The kind with the bubbles, like bubble wrap)

When looking online, I have seen several options with differing descriptions:

The clear solar blanket is said to be "best" because it allows the sun to penetrate to the water to heat it. (As opposed to reflecting the light back up or soaking up the light and not heating the water)

The blue suggests that it is the "best" because it’s dark color soaks up the sun’s heat.

The blue/aluminum combo suggest that the blue soaks up the heat and the aluminum reflects the heat back into the pool, making it the "best".

Arg!! And to make the decision harder, there are different thicknesses as well??

Can someone with experience with any of these please shed some light on this subject? The dumb things are so expensive. I want to get the right thing the first time.

Oh, and I posted this Q in home & garden –> maintenance & repairs and only got one answer. I thought I would go straight to those who are most likely using the covers for their pools: Parents with kids.

Help please?

Well I don’t have a pool, but my uncle & aunt do and they used to have one last summer that was blue that covered the whole pool, but this summer they have new ones that are circular and have a lot of them to cover the whole underground pool and they are also blue and heat up the pool really well. That’s all I have had experience with though.

3 Color Changing Solar Garden Light. A new style solar outdoor garden light for use as a floating light in ponds or placed on the ground along garden walkways.

Contains three continuously changing LED lights that are powered by the sun (solar). This simple to install and even simpler to use solar gadget incorporates a useful day and night feature that will automatically switch the light on in dark conditions and shut the light off and collect energy when there is light

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