The Solar Heater Pays for Itself

(Page 2 of 2)

September/October 1976
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Thus, whenever Ole Sol shines down on our humble abode and we need some extra room heat, all we have to do is throw open the hatches, sit back, and let the collector (aided by natural convection) do its work. Cool house air enters the collector through the 24" opening at the bottom of the wall ... rises as it's warmed by the sun's rays ... and exits back into the house through either of the two top vents (which are located in two different rooms) with enough force to flutter a few ribbons. TA DA! Passive solar heat!

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The beauty of this design is that it's simple (no expensive pumps, differential thermostats, copper tubing, etc.), and yet it works. The setup's only drawback is that it doesn't keep us warm for very long ... because at night, the heat passes right through our adobe walls. (The only remedy for this, of course, is insulation.)

Still, we're proud to report that our solar heater now provides us with onethird of all the Btu's we consume in space heating, which—in terms of propane—translates out to about $20 a month. Hence, you can figure the pay-back time on our whole system at around five weeks ... a far cry from the five to ten years it takes most solar heating installations to pay for themselves.

It's true that we could have increased the collector's efficiency and durability by using glass in place of plastic ... but this would've been—for our budget—much too expensive. Plastic works fine for us (and when it does need replacing, a new sheet should cost only about $5.00).

We found this a fun and rewarding—to ourselves AND the planet—experiment So much so, that we're already at work constructing a solarheated house of our own!

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  • anachronism 8/13/2009 10:47:08 AM

    Continued: anachronism-. Another way to COOL your homes, as I have designed for a project in Chino Valley, Ariz. is to use the earth to cool your home. This project is to big to discuss, but we will "Cool" a building twice the size of the Vancouver storage project, (28 homes) for $20 to $40 per day. Sincerely, Anachronism.

  • anachronism 8/13/2009 10:36:22 AM

    Passive Solar Heating and Cooling: I have created/used/re-fined and built "Passive Solar Heating AND cooling systems for 25 years. Go to this web address:/http://push.pickensplan.com/profile/Anachronism and look at the Photos (10) and you will find photos of five projects constructed and are totally "Heated" by Passive Solar. The project in Vancouver is automatically "COOLED" using a passive solar heating system that use's the air around the building to cool the interior of the structure. This building is 145' long, 74' wide and 21' tall. The interior volume is the same as (14) homes of this size. 55' x 36' and 8' ceilings(1980 Sq Ft and/or 15,840 Cubic feet) The project in Burlington went on solar in 1983 and cost a total of $50 to create the Passive system and NEVER required any repairs in 25 years. The building costs $1 per day, in natural gas, in the winter to "Heat interior to 75 degrees". The project in Vancouver both heats with solar and "COOLS" using solar with NO compressors, heat pumps or other machines. I will gladly show you how to create your own system in written form and also drawings to explain why it works. The COOLING system in the Vancouver project is totally automatic in operation and is driven by nature. I maintain interior temperature between 68 degrees to 74 degrees year round with a cost for natural gas of $1.50 per day for the complete building and the size of 14 homes. It daily cost is .10 cents to cool/heat a 1980 sq. ft. home. I will assist you to understand how to create that which I built and YOU then help others to create their own system.
    I owned and operated all five projects and the average daily heating costs in the dead of winter in Burlington Washington, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Monroe and Vancouver ON AVERAGE cost $1 per day. I kept all the cost numbers as I operated and kept the information. Another way to COOL your homes, as I have de

  • goldfishcastle 8/11/2009 12:29:41 PM

    I love this idea - perhaps taking down the clear plastic for the summer would reduce the heat build up - I realize the black would still make that wall hot.

    Bill- I think closing the "doors" at night would stop the cold backflow?

    My husband suggested painting the wall black rather than dealing with the black plastic. Has anyone tried this project recently - I'm somewhat hesitant to cut holes in my house without knowing how well this will work.

  • Stan 2/8/2009 2:44:47 PM

    Great simple idea. One question, how do you remove the collected heat in the summer from the collector? We have nice hot summers in Michigan so I want to get rid of the heat in the collector without damage to the collector from all the summer sun.

  • Bill Szmyd 9/22/2008 8:01:17 PM

    I've made this simple solar collector before and was hoping to discover a simple solution to letting this collector only run when I want it to; on a cold but sunny day. I don't want air circulating backwards during a cold night nor do I want hot air circulating on a hot summer day. Anyone have an easy answer to adding air valves?

  • Sean 12/25/2007 8:17:15 PM

    Where can find "fiberass"? I'm not sure, even if I can find it,
    that I would like the smell. My local Home Depot does not carry any
    "fiberass". However, they do have fiberglass insulation.

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