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)