A simple solar heater that is cheap and easy to make. When there is direct sun on the unit it produces heat like a hair dryer.
According to the creator it produces a stream of air of around 120 degrees.
Some suggested tips for improvement:
– Make sure your black paint is matte so it doesn’t reflect the sun.
– The air moves by convection, however, you could add a small computer fan on the outlet and wire it to a 12 volt solar cell the unit to control the air rate.
– The intake size could be adjusted to control air rate as well. Making the intake smaller will give the air time to heat up while passing through the dryer ducting but it will slow down the rate of air flow. You can run it hot and slower or with more air and not as warm.
– A flat plate could be added between the intake tube and inside wall up to a little pulley inside the house. You could then adjust the air rate like this as well and have an on/off option.
– Add insulation to help maintain heat running through the system. Could prove vital for very cold areas.
Air temperature alone is meaningless without knowing at what CFM.
Curtis Dickenson
CFM and BTU’S are a factor to bring a specific sized area up to a comfortable range, We are still a long way off w/ solar heat, however passive solar can be used to trim heating costs.
You can do the same thing with soda/beer cans!!
Interesting, not very applicable in Texas though. Also, what do you do at nighttime?
I would guess that any minimal heat produced would be negated by the fact you have a sheet of plywood in your window.
if you made the vents ,on the back of the panel,so that it would fit inside the window it would be more eficent and easy to remove in the summer
Andrew says:
“Depends on where you live. Here in Colorado, it can be 10 degrees and sunny almost all day. I imagine it would work just fine on days like that.”
From: http://www.truthandaction.org/simple-solar-furnace-under-50/comment-page-2/#comment-411812
Chance Airhart Eric Holland Adam Blick. What do you think? Would it work in 0 degrees?
Got to try this. Already built a portable small air conditioner. This is fun lol