Spray foam will make that a very tight building, should be easy to heat and comfortable to work in
Its started :)
- Thread starter walrus
- Start date
Strouty
Well-known member
I have been thinking about a solar collector again and I thought you had done one, how is it working? Been a while since you updated!
I love it, shop stays above 45 or so all winter with no other heat going. It's generally around 50. Stoking the woodstove gets it warm real quick if I want to go there and work. I've done nothing to it since I got it going except I went with a new controller. My shop was built to take advantage of solar though. Floor is insulated, edge of slab insulated. Walls and ceiling 2inches of foam plus cellulose in attic, fiber in walls. The building is tight other than 10 by 10 door. Best door I could find plus weatherstripping.
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Strouty
Well-known member
I have been toying with it for a while, but mine will probably just be air. I was thinking of having it heat water so it stores the heat after the sun goes down, but not sure the best approach. My floor is not insulated and my doors are the worst ones I could find.
Strouty
Well-known member
Would you just make radiators then?
To move air takes energy, to move an equivalent amount of energy in water takes way less energy. I'd heat a tank of water and then use that water for heat. But it takes real hot water to make a baseboard effective. That's way my system works so well. 80 degree water heats my floor fine, won't do **** in a baseboard . I'd recommend a website called builditsolar.com
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2011laramie
Well-known member
Hey walrus, once your panel heats up in the morning does the pump stay running all day or start and stop continually?
Strouty
Well-known member
I will check out the site for sure. Thanks again.
Cold snap is testing my premise that my solar radiant floor will keep my shop above freezing. It was 40 in there yesterday, no back up heat for couple of weeks. Thats the lowest temp I've seen in there. It generally stays around 50 but we haven't had a cold snap like this in 40 years according to weather guessers.
I was in there around 10.30 yesterday morning and collector temp was 32. The sun was shining. No help there.
I was in there around 10.30 yesterday morning and collector temp was 32. The sun was shining. No help there.
dwysywd
Well-known member
Keep us posted. I thought you said you had a wood stove? Or did you mean no other way to heat the floor? What about a small 10gal 110v as a backup when it gets stupid cold.
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DonPowers
Well-known member
I would take 40 deg any day of the week in my garage during the winter.
I do have woodstove, I can heat it, just curious as to how low it will go. 37 when I went out there this morning.
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dwysywd
Well-known member
Yeah. That makes sense. You have glycol mix in the floor I assume?
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I do, not worried about floor, collector is pressurized and full of no burst [emoji4]
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2011laramie
Well-known member
It's below zero f, no wind today. Collector temps in 80s right now.
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High noon,3f out, collector temp just over 100. Going into floor at around 50.
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Strouty
Well-known member
That is awesome that things are staying that warm with no backup heat source being used. I am paying about $25 a day right now to keep my shop at 40. Someday I will build a new shop and I can do all the fancy things to save money, but right now it is just not in the cards.
86turbodsl
Well-known member
Man I would love to try this out. I am redoing my floor plumbing maybe it's time to add a couple auto valves for future...
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I'm on the coast of Maine this is the first time I've seen temps this low in shop. Shop is built to heat easily. You would be similar to northern Maine. I doubt it works up there but it would help.
Put some junk wood in stove and got it up to 50, filled it with oak as I want to be out there tomorrow. I will fill it again later. I'd guess 60 by morning.
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Denwood
Well-known member
Can you post a few pics of your setup inside with respect to controls, manifolds etc.? Don't worry about aesthetics...just looking for simplicity.
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Denwood
Well-known member
Looked up this thread and realised I had missed your update last year with the system pics.
How does the Stiebel controller work. Is that a LAN cable I see in pic1...that goes to the controller?
How does the Stiebel controller work. Is that a LAN cable I see in pic1...that goes to the controller?
larry4406
Well-known member
Nice build!
Very nice how this works for an outbuilding.
Very nice how this works for an outbuilding.
Wow, what an awesome build.
This makes me want to sell my boiler panel and build this solar system out. I hate paying the electric bill when the shop floor gets turned on Fall-Spring.
Maybe I could keep the system I have, but turn the heating elements off?
This makes me want to sell my boiler panel and build this solar system out. I hate paying the electric bill when the shop floor gets turned on Fall-Spring.
Maybe I could keep the system I have, but turn the heating elements off?
Couple things about the build, it built to use solar as a heat source. It’s tight and insulated to take advantage of what little heat the sun generates in Maine in the winter. Why it works is, the floor s generally at approx 50 degrees or less. That means collector temps in the 60s puts heat in the floor. 60s is easy to get. The sun is higher now so temps much Higher than that are easy now. Sometimes as high as 110f . That’s not the fluid temp as it’s generally a few degrees higher than floor temp when solar is running. If I did it again I would have covered the whole south side of wall it’s collector.