Create Solar Heat for Metal Buildings Using TAP

By Luke Elliot
Published on July 1, 1986
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The integrated thermosiphoning air panel (TAP) is the perfect solar collector for metal buildings because the side of the structure can act as the unit's absorber plate.
The integrated thermosiphoning air panel (TAP) is the perfect solar collector for metal buildings because the side of the structure can act as the unit's absorber plate.
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Grilles inside the building?at the top and bottom of the collector?allow room air to circulate through the solar heater and be warmed. Each duct opening should ideally be about twice as large as a horizontal cross section through the solar collector itself.
Grilles inside the building?at the top and bottom of the collector?allow room air to circulate through the solar heater and be warmed. Each duct opening should ideally be about twice as large as a horizontal cross section through the solar collector itself.
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Diagrams of the collector frame, backdraft damper and duct, and damper and duct patterns.
Diagrams of the collector frame, backdraft damper and duct, and damper and duct patterns.
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Costs to build the integrated thermosiphoning air panel (TAP).
Costs to build the integrated thermosiphoning air panel (TAP).

Reprinted from MOTHER EARTH NEWS NO. 91.

The easy, low-cost way to add solar heat to you mobile home or metal outbuilding.

Create Solar Heat for Metal Buildings Using TAP

The integrated thermosiphon air panel (TAP for short) is a fresh approach to solar air heating–one that’s perfectly suited to the 10 million or so folks who live in mobile homes and to owners of the countless metal-sided storage, industrial, and commercial buildings around the world. By making use of the building itself as a part of the collector, the TAP keeps material costs down, simplifies construction, and maintains a low visual profile. And because it relies on thermosiphoning to move air past the absorber, the TAP avoids the complexity and cost of an electrically driven fan.

What It Takes

What do you need to build your own TAP? The critical element, of course, is sunlight for solar heat: You need a metal-sided wall that faces within 25 degrees of south and that isn’t shaded in the crucial winter months. You’ll also need some hand tools, such as a drill, metal snips, screwdrivers, a caulking gun, a 1/4 inch nut driver, and maybe a circular saw. Add to these items less than $100 worth of locally available materials and a weekend’s work, and you’ll have solar heat flowing into your home.

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