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Old 03-26-17, 08:39 PM   #5
Xringer
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Another problem is when those HX panels are sitting under a foot of snow..

I'm using a bit of a hybrid system for my hot water. See diagram here:

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...html#post29717

If you can get some cheap PV panels, install them where you can keep the snow cleared, then you can make hotwater directly from DC from the panels.
If you have access to a basement slab sitting on 50F or warmer ground temps,
then you can run a hotwater heat pump.. As it cools the basement air, the slab re-warms the air.. It's semi-Geo-Thermal. Works good at night too..

If you took the hot water idea up in scale, you could heat your living spaces with forced hot water..

Anyways for space heating, there are hot-air DIY rigs that use collectors
to heat air pulled from the living space..
Aluminum Downspout Solar Hot Air Collector Construction, Brainstorming and Development
before pumping it back in..
These seem like the lowest cost methods and they work pretty well.

Some of us around here us warm attic air to heat living spaces.
I use attic air to warm up my basement. It would work better,
if my basement had better windows and insulated walls..
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