Solar Type of Heating

[Neil J]

I'm a new member and this is my first post. I live in Northern Minnesota so heat is a must in the winter time. I have been looking at different ideas for homemade solar heating since heating is a cost thing for us up north. I do have a wood stove, but have not installed it yet. I have just moved into a different house that has a seperate shop that is not insulated yet or heated.
Does anyone use Solar types of heating for their garage or shop?

 

[buzz4041]

Can't answer your question but welcome to GJ.

 

[Hephaestus29]

You mean lke this ? I made this a couple of years ago, you can get other ideas off youtube. Just look up "passive solar heater" it's best to have it facing south of course & if at all possible rotate it throughout the day to get the maximum amount of heat. I have this one mounted on my house but am thinking about taking it down because there are too many trees where it's at so it's only good for about 4 hours currently. I have a fan motor I hook up to this one so I guess you really can't call it passive. It will put out some serious heat though if mounted in the right position on a sunny day. It will help cut your heating costs if you do it right, scavenge all you can so you don't spend a bunch of money.
You might also try Solar Power Forum, i'm a member there but havn't posted in quite a while.

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[Neil J]

What did you use for the heat collector inside the unit?

 

[Everett]

Since i like this, i been reading up on this type of stuff last 34 years, if i ever get my place and garage , this what i do, but dang so costly too do it this way, first stop is a outdoor wood boiler, tyed into a solar ray of panels, then this would go too a ceiling mounted boiler with big fan in back, in the shop in the nw corner of the shop, then next would a heated floor in the shop, this the way it would work, you run the boiler too heat the water , meanwhile the sun adding to this mix , the hang boiler would heat the shop during the day, meanwhile when sun goes down , the storage collecter from the solar panel would kick in and heat the floor , nice 54 degrees, just enuff too keep the chill off, now i dont if this idea work or not or just cheaper too burn lp off a hangen reznor

 

[Fastback]

In time I want to add a rack of evacucuated solar tube collectors to my radiant system, those things are super efficient for passive hot water.

It's worth googling.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I live in Northern Minnesota so heat is a must in the winter time. I have been looking at different ideas for homemade solar heating since heating is a cost thing for us up north.

I doubt that you could "cost effectively" capture enough solar energy to make a serious gain in heating a building in MN. I'm sure there are forums on the web who can help you with the calculations.

The simplest, least expensive solution is a large amount of windows (probably triple glazed) on a south facing wall and a nice, thick concrete slab (6") for the sun to shine on (of course that means you can't store anything in that area). At night, you need to cover those windows with some good insulation to try and keep what heat you have stored in the floor inside the building.

Then of course in summer, you will be sweating to death.

Wood or pellet stove is probably your lowest operating cost.

 

[raspy]

Here's a picture of my new place. The radiant system will be heated by (6) 4X10 collectors and backed by 360 gallons of storage. A controller will manage the collection and distribution and allow either solar only or solar with oil backup.

 

[Hephaestus29]

What did you use for the heat collector inside the unit?

The tubes are just aluminum duct that come compressed & then they pull out to about 8ft lengths. There are 2 headers one at top & bottom. The sides are made from metal stud "track" & then I put 1 inch thick insulating board in the web all the way around & a 4'x8' ft piece in the back . It has an aluminum back on it & a Lexan front, I used butyl tape to seal the lexan to the frame & then fastened it down with metal roofing screws, they have a plastic or nylon head. The unit is 4'x8' and weighs about 80 lbs I would guess. I can pick it up by myself but it's pretty awkward.
I had this unit hooked up to a furnace fan on high & it puts out good heat constantly in direct sunlight.

 

[Neil J]

Do you have plans to go any bigger? I have been procrastinating too long on this about how big to build and how to build it, where as, I just need to build one. Thanks for all the info.

 

[Neil J]

Is the system you are going with a commercial unit? And what type of cost are you looking at for the system?

 

[lzenglish]

You mean lke this ? I made this a couple of years ago, you can get other ideas off youtube. ttp://www.garagejournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=1777&pictureid=16393[/IMG]

Is this an air to air solar heater then? This is the first time I have seen one like it. How is the air distributed in the house? Are the tubes the supply and return? Looks like you did a good constuction job on it, however it works. Id love to see more pictures of it.

Wayne

 

[Hephaestus29]

Is this an air to air solar heater then? This is the first time I have seen one like it. How is the air distributed in the house? Are the tubes the supply and return? Looks like you did a good constuction job on it, however it works. Id love to see more pictures of it.

Wayne

If you look on youtube you can see how these work, I havn't posted a video of it in action though. There are two holes in the unit, one in the top header & one in the bottom that go into the house, cold air goes in one & hot air comes out the other. The tubes are the collectors for the heat. In a passive system the cold air will go in the bottom & get warmed & heat will come out the top, but since i have a fan hooked up to it I draw cold air in at the top & heat comes out the bottom. I'm drawing air into the unit in the hallway which is in the center of the house and pulling it out where it's mounted at the bottom. the way i'm doing it isn't exactly the most efficient way but I had planned on mounting a fan motor in the attic so I didn't have to hear the noise. Most people just have the inlet & outlet in the same room which is what I probably should have done but I wanted to try something different. I can send you some pics through email faster probably than uploading them here, but maybe not since i'm having computer trouble. I had to log on in safe mode to get on tonight so I may not be on for a while ?? just send me your email & i'll try to send some pics. H

 

[lzenglish]

If you look on youtube you can see how these work, I havn't posted a video of it in action though.

Thanks, and just as you said, there is a ton of stuff on youtube about Solar Air Collectors, so no need to send me the pictures. Here is just one link for the benifit of others:

Wayne

 

[lzenglish]

To the original OP, Neil J: I built my own hot water solar system about 10 years ago. Like a previous poster said, I too scrounged almost all of the parts necessary to build it, as the componets are way over priced. I suggest that if you cannot buy whoesale, find a friend who can buy for you. Here are some of the componets you will need to find: A large solar storage tank, collectors, circulating pumps, (if you go with an active system), a differential temperature controller, a drain down valve, a heating water coil for your wood stove, if you decide to add one, a bunch of copper tube, valves, temp. gages, ect., ect.
The last I heard, the rule of thumb for domestic hot water heating, is one 4X8 ft. panel for 2 people, for domestic HW only. If you want to heat a slab, you will need allot more, coupled with your stove coil. I could write a book about mine, but will stop here for now. I will watch your post and add info. if I can.

Good Luck,

Wayne

 

[Neil J]

Thanks for the info, will start scrounging on my budget

 

[socapots]

There are a bunch of topics on here as well about guys using solar systems top help with the heating. I found some pretty good links and info about it all.
If i ever get to build a shop to replace the shack i have now it will be a part of it.
Im up in Manitoba. And it can get pretty damn cold up here as well.
do some searches on here. I will see if i can find the info i have and post it up as well.