Which slat is right for the Alicante climate?
Alicante is one of the sunniest, driest corners of Europe: around 2,800 hours of sunshine a year, and a climate that's officially semi-arid, closer to North Africa than to northern Spain. Summer highs sit around 30–32°C, winter days still reach 16–17°C though the nights drop into single figures, and the sea holds between 20 and 28°C from June to October. The bathing season is already long here. A cover is what stretches it further and keeps the water usable in between.
The dryness is the part people underestimate. An uncovered pool in an Alicante July loses water to evaporation every single day, and the level quietly drops while nobody's there to top it up. Add the calima — the Saharan dust haze that drifts across the province — plus pine and palm litter on inland gardens, and a pool left open for three weeks needs a full clean and a shock treatment before anyone gets in. Closed, it needs almost none of that.
PVC is the slat most of our customers choose, and the simplest to live with. It's tough, it shrugs off harsh sun and salt air, and it holds the day's heat in the water overnight. It suits the south of the province particularly well — Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Santa Pola and Gran Alacant — where summers are punishing and owners want something durable that simply works, season after season, without fuss.
Solar polycarbonate is the choice for swimming more months of the year. The slats let sunlight through and trap the heat, so the water can gain several degrees over a sunny week with no heating running at all. It pays off where spring and autumn nights stay cool, in Jávea, Dénia, Altea, Calpe and La Nucía. Clear polycarbonate is the discreet option: you still see the water through it, which matters in sea-view villas at Cabo de las Huertas or Altea Hills.
So, the honest short version: PVC if you want the toughest, most robust slat and the day's heat held overnight; solar polycarbonate if you want the water genuinely warmer and the season genuinely longer. Both float on the surface, both are motorised, and both open and close with one control. We'll tell you which one suits your pool, not which one costs more. There's more on our <a href="/en/lamas.html">slat types</a> page.
