A Solar-Heated Church
(Page 3 of 4)
May/June 1983
By Jim Strothman
The Reverend believes that it's generally better to have collectors rest on the ground rather than on a roof, simply because the lower location allows easy removal of snow and/or ice. (Also, additional energy would be required to pump hot air down from a roof-mounted unit, and heat would be lost during the journey.) Therefore, the rectangular collectors were placed at ground level in back of the church, and angled due south at 60 degrees from horizontal — or more or less perpendicular to the sun's rays in February, the coldest but sunniest winter month in the area. (This angle should, of course, be increased at locations north of latitude 42 and decreased farther south.) The units are held in position by 2-by-4s or 4-by-4s, which are either embedded in concrete or set in 8-foot concrete blocks.
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From Collectors to Church
After the actual heat-gatherers were set up, the next step involved placing a 16-inch diameter insulated sewer pipe 3 feet deep (which is below the frost line) and directly under the row of collectors. The pipe is connected to the Sunday school building's basement, and from there it draws cool air, which enters the base of each heater by way of two 4-inch diameter insulated ducts.
Additionally, a 16-inch-square air duct (it's also well insulated, with 4 inches of polyisocyanurate foam on each side and 6 inches above) was built along the top of the row of heating units, to receive the hot air that flows from two 4-inch diameter ducts leading from the top of each collector. The wood framing of the ducts and collectors was then covered with aluminum siding (placed over 5/8-inch polystyrene insulation) to match that on the exterior of the buildings.
One end of the 16-inch-square duct leads into the church sanctuary, and the other outlet goes into the Sunday school annex. At each end a blower, having a capacity of about 1,700 cubic feet per minute, is housed inside an aluminum container. Each fan pulls heated air from the collectors and pushes it through the buildings' metal ducts and air vents.
A key component in the system is a thermocouple, located inside the middle of the 16-inch-square duct atop the heaters. This turns on the Sunday school fan when enough heat is present inside the duct, usually around 9:00 a.m. on a sunny day. Then, when that building is warmed to the desired level, a thermostat in the annex cuts off that fan, and the second blower draws heat into the church.
