Passive Solar Air Heater - Step Three - Materials

Alright, so you have a general idea of the design. Now refine it.

• What kinds of material do you want to use?
  

You can either buy many of the products new, or look around to find products that will produce the intent of the material in the design. I am using a combination.

Here is my list so far:

1. 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" plywood for the backing (donated to me)
   
2. 2"x6" timber for the frame (donated)
3. 200+ aluminum cans
4. 4'x8' sheet of plexiglass (need to buy, not sure the quality yet... it's expensive)
5. black heat resistant paint - matte or flat (BBQ paint)
6. batt insulation - pink stuff (extra from de jam space)
7. sealing caulking
8. adhesive caulking
9. tin sheets, aluminum, or some sort of cover (undecided)
10. fan
11. Thermostat/differential thermostat
    

As I go through the construction step by step, I'll explain the intent of each component, and provide some alternative examples of what could be used. There may be some materials that would work better, or worse; however, they might be more or less expensive as well.

I am not intending to build the Bugatti of solar air heaters. My intent is to make the best solar air heater possible for a reasonable/cheap price. In the end, I suspect we will hit around 2 kW. We could maybe hit 3 kW if we went out and bought the best of the best... but that might increase the cost by 300% too. Which is no-sense. Maximize utility... right?

Passive Solar Air Heater - Step One - Planning

Okay. How to start?

I am using concepts from previous designs I've seen on the internet (also know as the world wide web, or Frankie to close friends); however, I am trying to design this solar heater using my good old noggin' ... cause I like using it. Notwithstanding, I plan to make these instructions simple for those who don't like using it.

In fact... lets set a precedent. As I go through these instructions I will make all the really important stuff bold. That way, if you just want the meat you can skip all the vegetable filler, aka, my banter. I hate other peoples banter, mostly.

Planning:

There are a few things that need to be considered first:

• How big do you want this to be / do you have space for?

I am planning to have it 4'x7.5' which I suspect will produce around 2000W of heat energy. I picked this size because it is basically as big as I can make one panel. Depending on what you want this for, this will change it's size. If you live in Canada like me, and you think this will heat up your uninsulated garage in -40 C weather, you are smoking some nutty BC ganja. I will be using the heater for my jam space that I am building in my garage -so I can have a sweet band and not have to pay ridiculous amounts of money using electric space heaters. It as about a 8'x16' room inside the garage. The garage itself is uninsulated, but the "room inside a room" jam space has R-12 insulation. Depending on the results and performance, I might just make another one.

• Where are you going to install the solar air heater?
• How much sunlight is there at this place, and how much shadow does this spot get throughout the day?
• Do you plan to either; a) penetrate the walls; or b) go through a window?
  

I don't really know how long I will be staying in this house, and I don't want to cut holes in the walls, so I am planning on ducting in through a window. The place on the garage wall I chose receives nearly the entire day with direct sunlight, to maximize the amount of heat this unit will produce. I have it facing nearly due south. (See pictures)

Passive Solar Air Heater - Step by Step - DIY

I am about to make my first Solar Air Heater to take the edge off the cold winters in my garage jam space and help supplement the little space heater that is draining the old pockets. Over the next couple of weeks, I will post a series of photos and step by step instructions to complete your own solar air heater.

Maybe with some discussions and modifications we can increase the efficiency of them and maximize the ratio between making them cheaper and more effective. I am a civil engineer, so being able to test how well it is performing is important to me. I will provide some testing data with it, and I may just dust off my old thermodynamics to try to maximize it's efficiency.

Like other DIY'ers out there, I am planning to use empty beer/pop cans to create the necessary surface area to give adequate results. See you all on the flip side!