01-01-11, 08:44 PM | #1 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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Good youtube video "Solar Hot Air Panel heater basics"
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01-05-11, 12:45 PM | #2 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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01-05-11, 01:04 PM | #3 |
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I haven't been able to watch either video (at work). But, hot air panels are a great and super cheap way to get heat into the house. I'm not a huge fan of the downspout heaters though. Seems like they wouldn't be the most efficient. However, they do seem to work well for the user in that link.
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01-05-11, 04:24 PM | #4 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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Three windows..
I was just looking at my house and started thinking about,
Those three little windows and how I could make them gather more solar.. The glass is 38.5 x 22.75 with a fat middle blockage.. I'm thinking of a 25"w x 5"h x 12"d fan box that would install on the sill like a window AC. Connected to the box would be a hanging solar collector.. The collector would be about 30' wide, 6" deep and 48" long.. The fan box section would be only 5" tall, so most of your window would be unobstructed. While the 4' collector hung down below the window, out of sight, out of mind.. |
07-11-11, 01:04 PM | #5 |
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Thanks for those links Xringer. Last year I had gathered about 10 sections of downpipe in aluminum 10' long and 2 5/8 square for free from work with the intention of building one of these. After seeing what's possible I'm all fired up again to complete the project.
I'm not sure I'll use the same fan setup they did, I might be able to scrounge something closer to Daox's attic heating system for cheap. We'll see as I study. It's really cool that they're mounting these horizontally in a low position where they don't stick out as much. I just have to consider knee high snow. The first vid immediately helped me determine what size I need to heat my house and the second vid helped me visualize the house connection and the plenum better than I had before, so thanks again! Last edited by pletby; 07-11-11 at 01:12 PM.. |
07-11-11, 02:25 PM | #6 |
Lex Parsimoniae
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You are most welcome, Northern Neighbor!
I've been thinking about how to make that little bush disappear, without my wife zapping my head with the old fry pan.. |
07-13-11, 10:12 PM | #7 |
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Turns out Daox is right. According to the guys at SimplySolar who've done side by side comparison tests the aluminum downspout collector isn't as good as the aluminum screen collector. It's still works, just not the most efficient. It's more efficient than the pop can style though in terms of how hard it is to move air through it. I'm still building the downspout collector though as I've got to mount it horizontally, where screen collectors lose a great deal of performance.
Xringer hide the fry pan. |
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