Build a Simple Solar Heater

(Continued) This building has the CUBIC VOLUME of 12-2000 sq. foot homes and literally cost less then $2.00 of electrical power, per month, to operate the fans motors, which "Sucks" the cooling or heating into the project in Vancouver Wash on Mill Plain Blvd. CURIOUS? arclockventuri@gmail.com and I will gladly show HOW to do the above. Anachronism 9-9-09

9/9/9
Mother Earth: Passive Solar Heating/25 years of use and design. ANYBODY DESIRE TO HEAT HIS OR HER HOME/BARN/SHOP? The following is where it started with my first effort in 1983.
The original cost of the Burlington project, beyond the original cost of $100 for a used "Hot water flash Boiler" and $100 for 500’ of used sheet metal ductwork from a "Sea First" bank being remodeled in Bellingham was the purchase of a "Adjustable Remote" temperature sensor that indicated the "AIR" temperature in the attic and a distance of 24" from the inside pitch of the roof covered with black composition roofing.
The one question for you is the following: What were the conditions "outside" and on the roof on December 22,1983 in Burlington, Washington? When the Passive Solar system turned "ON" for the first time, the building was 65 degrees inside and I was sweeping the floors. I had turned the hot water furnace off and the remote attic control was set for 65 Degree. I quickly went outside to look at the weather and found "3 inches" of snow on the roof and a temperature of 22 degrees. SO I guess "Solar Heating" and "Passive Solar Cooling" are impossible.
The building size is 95' long by 55' wide and 27' tall with 3 floors with 150 rooms inside. MY monthly cost to heat the "COMPLETE BUILDING" averages $1.00 (per day) in the winter. Look on http://push.pickensplan.com/profile/Anachronism and go to "photos (10) "and see 5 projects in operation for 25 years. I cool the project in Vancouver Wash for "NO COST" beyond the operational cost of two fans in the back-up gas-heating furnace. LOOK AT THE TEN PICTURES of OUR PASSIVE COOLING & HEATING SYSTEM AND IS TOTALLY PASSIVE SOLAR AND USES NO MACHINERY/COMPRESSORS/ or any power to create the COOLING for the complete project. This building has the CUBIC VOLUME of 12-2000 sq. foot ho

I don't see a single relevant picture with this article. Am I missing something, or am I just supposed to somehow visualize the final product in my head?

Hi Kim,
I don't think that moist air will be a problem.

The collector pulls air from inside your garage (not outside), and it will heat it up by about 50F to 60F degrees as it passes through the collector. The temperature increase lowers the relative humidity, and should to to evaporate any moisture that might be in the collector at startup -- it should dry out very quickly once the sun is on it and air is circulating.

Gary Reysa

I really want to build one of these to heat my garage that's attached to my house. I live on the Oregon coast where the air has a lot of moisture. Will the collectors condensate and push moist air into the interior? Or (hopefully) will the air flow in the collector dry out the air as it moves through?

You could use a 2X4 placed flat against the outside wall and secured the adjoining studs to make a more rigid connection point to lag screw the verticals too.

Also to create a more rigid wall to support a large collector one could install a long narrow piece of plywood across the effected studs, counter sunk to allow even finishing of the interior wall.

THINKING INSIDE THE BOX.
Most people already have the makings of a thermo-siphon heater. People intrigued by the concept, but not willing to spend hundreds of dollars and hours, may find that they are already halfway there. Foam insulation, metal collector, glazed enclosure, are all parts of home components otherwise called an insulated steel entry door and full-view storm door. The only things missing are the supply and exhaust vents, and flat black paint.

FROM GARY

Hi Colette,
I have heard of a small number of cases of this happening, but its very unusual in thermosyphon collectors because the temperatures are not that high.

From what I have heard from others, the smell will likely go away with time -- you may want to use more ventilation until it does.

One thing you might try if the glazing can be removed easily is to wait for some warm, sunny weather, and remove the glazing for a couple days and let the sun and air at the internals of the collector.
This may also allow you to figure out which material the smell is coming from.

I would also wipe off the inside of the glazing before you re-install it as some of the volatiles may have deposited on the inside of the glazing
-- this will reduce the collectors performance.

Another thing you might try is to pull the glazing away a bit at the top and the bottom of the collector, and then shut off the vents that go to the shop. This way the collector will ventilate itself with air coming in at the bottom and out at the top. Let it run for a few days like this, and see if that gets rid of the odor.

As to whats causing the odor, I'm a bit suspicious of the sealer, as I've used a several different paints with no problems.
Another potential source of odor in collectors is the caulking -- silicone caulk is the only one I would inside of inside of collectors.

If there is any insulation inside the collector, it should be a high temperature insulation. The polyisocyanurate rigid foam board that many lumber yards carry is good. If you used polystyrene foam board (the blue, pink, or white stuff), it will not hold up to collector temperatures, but I'm not sure if it smells as it degrades.

As another way to try to identify which material is causing the smell,
you can bake it in a kitchen oven at about 250F. For example, if you
suspect the paint, then paint a scrap of wood with it, let it dry, then expose it to the oven overnight and

HELP!! WE JUST INSTALLED A 6' x 16' COLLECTOR ON THE SIDE OF OUR SHOP (OUTBUILDING). WE PAINTED THE BACK SURFACE WITH BLACK PAINT AND THEN SEALED THAT SURFACE WITH SAFECOAT HARD SEAL. WE USED TWO LAYERS OF BLACK ALUM. SCREEN INSIDE IT AND POLY-CARB. FOR THE SURFACE AREA. IT WORKS FINE BUT BRINGS IN WITH THE HOT AIR AN OBJECTIONABLE ODOR - DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THIS ODOR WILL GO AWAY EVENTUALLY? i CAN NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT IS OFF-GASSING AND IF IT IS DANGEROUS TO BREATHE... WE PUT OVER $400 IN THE PROJECT - IS THERE SOMETHING WE SHOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?
~cOLETTE

First of let me thank you for this. I have out building all over my farm that heat in the winter would be nice to have but never had electricty. This is a great way for me to do it. But as a way to control the heat you could add simple plywood doors painted a very light color that could be closed on warm days to block heat build up on the outside. then as winter months come you simply go outside and open the doors to allow for heat. on larger setups you could even use a double door and on warmer days when not as much heat is needed simply open only one door.

Just a suggestion.

Teresa from S. Georgia, I live in N. Carolina and have the same
problem with variable temp. in winter. If you use this method and
design it to heat the house well on the coldest days (teens and
twenties), then it will probably overheat the house on a 70 degree
day. Without getting into design specifics, you could vent the air
from the solar room into a water heat storage system. Dave

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I live in So. Georgia and would like to convert (at least
partially) to solar heat. Is this the best way to do this? There is
a lot of info. for the colder regions, but none for the south.
Today is 1-11-08 and it is between 75 & 80 degrees. Last week
it was 21. Any suggestions? Any help would be appreciated.

To Dan and Toeknee, That's the beauty of putting it on the south
facing wall: The sun is 46 degrees higher in the sky in summer than
in the dead of winter. In Bozeman, at a latitude of 46 degrees, the
sun will be at a high of 23 degrees from vertical at high noon on
June 21 (compared to 21 degrees from the horizon at high noon on
Dec 21). Because of the high angle, the collector is effectively in
the shade and no direct sunlight enters (you could be a modest
sized overhang to make sure). Thus there is no problem with
overheating in summer due to the collector. Dave

Could this be used to pre-heat recirculated swimming pool water?

I agree with Dan... I'm looking at building a Garage/Workshop this
spring and would consider adding this to my south wall during
construction. But the summer months is a concern....

Very informative article, and I think this will come in very handy
in my garage. However, I'm curious what you do in the summer to
keep the heat out? Do you plug the vents, or do you remove the
whole thing? Just wondering. I don't want my garage to be 300
degrees in the summer. Thanks, Dan

Hi, I did a pretty careful measurement of collector efficiency on
the collector last week using my new pyranometer from Apogee to
measure the solar radiation. The efficiency came up 70.2% for the
conditions I tested under, which were full sun and outdoor
temperature around 45F. I was very very happy with this -- it shows
you can get efficiencies as good as commercial collectors costing
$30 a sqft with this simple $2 per sqft collector. Gary

the artical on simple solar heat from south wall was very
informative on how to build. thats one reason i subscribe to mother
earth .