solor heater
- Thread starter JOEY K
- Start date
ixlr8
Well-known member
Not yet, but as I build, I am planning on including it to augment the heating. I believe I can get 80% of the heating from solar. In spring and fall I plan on sending 'excess' heat from the garage panels to help with the radiant floor heating in the home. At least that is the plan on paper. 
HoosierBuddy
Well-known member
I've given it some thought.
I think if you wanted to use solar you should target your house's needs first. For that kind of trouble and outlay of cash you need to generate some sort of longterm payback and that is going to be easier to do where you have to use energy.
Solar is unlikely to be supported for a garage even by the most cursory of payback analysis computations. So, what would be the point? If you say "better for the planet". I say..."just don't heat your garage. It's not a necessity".
My point is, that is a harder to make argument against solar in your primary dwelling. There, you do actually NEED heat all winter so even if the payback is sketchy you could stick to the moral highground and be in the right in my opinon.
The cheapest, most environmentally friendly way to heat a garage is simply not to. Or, at least only heat it the brief periods when it is occupied.
Phil
VHF
Well-known member
However, doing solar for the garage can be cheaper/easier than for the house because the garage (usually) doesn't need to be as warm and can (usually) tolerate greater temperature fluctuations. For example, in a garage you could hook soloar panels directly up to a radiant floor loop. No storage tank; the mass of the concrete floor would provide thermal storage. And if you are only trying to heat you garage to around 60F, you'll be able to benefit even from 80F water coming back from the collectors on a partly cloudy day.
Or for simple and inexpensive daytime air heating, do a simple passive collector on the south wall similar to Gary's on builditsolar.com
Or for simple and inexpensive daytime air heating, do a simple passive collector on the south wall similar to Gary's on builditsolar.com
ixlr8
Well-known member
For me, I have no good place to put solar panels on my house, orientation is all wrong, and SWMBO forbids any tree removal. But the garage was designed, orientated and situated properly for solar panels. Considering todays cost of energy... solar is a little hard to justify. BUT, 10 years from now, when I am not working and on a limited income, I suspect it will be a very different story and I am trying to get prepared for then.
RPH
Well-known member
I have about 50 feet of south facing wall that I will use for solar heating. This design is being used in Bozeman, Montana. It's simple and cheap.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/2006-12-01/Build-a-Simple-Solar-Heater.aspx
Check it out.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Renewable-Energy/2006-12-01/Build-a-Simple-Solar-Heater.aspx
Check it out.
ixlr8
Well-known member
That solar air heater is nice. They are simple and work well if the building is orientated properly and .... you can get it to pass the WAF.
I agree, I have one whole wall facing south, I plan on building vertical collectors on half that wall. Hopefully I'll get started this winter and get them installed over next spring and summer. Solar will only work in our cold climate by having a properly insulated shop
I already have collectors on my house for DHW so I know what they can do.
I'm getting reddy to build and install a pop can solar panel on my pump house/garden shed. They look like they work great and cost all most nothing to make! Do a Google search for pop can collector and you will find lots of information about their construction, even some You-tube videos of there constructiona and operation. When I get mine built I will post some pictures here.....
William....
William....
JTG
Well-known member
I just checked out that soda can solar heaters. They look really cool. Do you think 2 or 3 of those could heat a 2 1/2 car garage?
rsanter
Well-known member
there was a guy that showed on the web how he did some heating for the house.
he used PEX in the floor that went out to a solar collector outside mounted to a shed that he has. on the side of the shed is a solar collector (box) with black tubing running back and forth in it and the box is painted black inside. the box is capped with glass so the sun heats the inside of the box and the tubing with the liquid in it.
he uses a small pump to cycle the fluid in the system.
this type of setup should work great in a garage if you are only looking to raise it a few degrees (for almost free)
bob
he used PEX in the floor that went out to a solar collector outside mounted to a shed that he has. on the side of the shed is a solar collector (box) with black tubing running back and forth in it and the box is painted black inside. the box is capped with glass so the sun heats the inside of the box and the tubing with the liquid in it.
he uses a small pump to cycle the fluid in the system.
this type of setup should work great in a garage if you are only looking to raise it a few degrees (for almost free)
bob
RPH
Well-known member
Getting the heat in does not seem to be the problem. Keeping it in is. Excellent insulation is the secret to working with this. Even where I live here in Michigan during January we have 1.6 kWHr per square meter applied. That is a lot of energy in the worst month to waste. I got to get the free stuff before I pay to heat the building.
Dragster Racer
Well-known member
That Mother Earth design has been used quite a bit, and most swear by it. It costs nothing to run, and is pretty inexpensive to build. I am very much considering it since I have a south facing wall to use. I am insulating plenty, and I think that the solar could at least cut my heating bill in half. I say go for it, and document it well so that we can all copy it!