Hello!
In the process of constructing these for my Trailer's windows...
Just wondering if it would increase the efficiency of the cardboard panel I'm using if I would make the 'lower' slot somewhat
larger than the 'top' slot? Would this let more 'cool' air in and 'cause' the 'heated' air to come out a bit 'faster'...??
Thanks in advance for any Info...
The DIY Passive Solar Window Heater
Re: The DIY Passive Solar Window Heater
I am no expert on heating and cooling but warm air is expanded and should take up more space than cooler air isnt it?
I would just make both holes as large as possible to allow maximum air flow. My camper was heated nicely a few years ago when my big picture window was facing the sun all day long. In the winter it kept it nice and warm during the day with no other heat.
I would just make both holes as large as possible to allow maximum air flow. My camper was heated nicely a few years ago when my big picture window was facing the sun all day long. In the winter it kept it nice and warm during the day with no other heat.
Re: The DIY Passive Solar Window Heater
[quote="TheSoddy"]Hello!
(In the process of constructing these for my Trailer's windows...)
Just a thought if you construct a heater that covers your window yes your gaining heat from that window but your blocking the window you are better of constructing a passive solar collector and placing it next to the window then you have the windows passive solar and the new added passive solar collector adding to your heat and maybe that's what you where saying at i took the comment wrong
(In the process of constructing these for my Trailer's windows...)
Just a thought if you construct a heater that covers your window yes your gaining heat from that window but your blocking the window you are better of constructing a passive solar collector and placing it next to the window then you have the windows passive solar and the new added passive solar collector adding to your heat and maybe that's what you where saying at i took the comment wrong
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OutOfPlaceNinja
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2015 3:37 pm
- Location: USA
Re: The DIY Passive Solar Window Heater
My two cents..
I have experimented a little with passive solar heating. Simply opening the curtains on sunny days and closing them back (being sure the curtains are thick and insulating) does wonders in a well insulated home. It saves me quite a bit of money doing this. For example, the last several days have been somewhat warm. One day in the 70s and the rest in the 50s but night temps around freezing. I open the south facing curtains when the sun makes it past the trees and leave them open till the sun goes beyond the other trees then close the curtains. It took about 10 hours to drop the inside temp from 70 when I closed the curtains to around 50. During the daylight hours I didn't have to use the heat at all as the sun kept the home warm. Was about 50 upon opening generally and around 70 by closing. There were some times it dipped into the 40s in the house overnight but a thick blanket does wonders. I'm cheap. Of course this doesn't help at all on cloudy days it seems.
I want to someday try a passive or even active solar heater setup like I seen on YouTube. Basically you have the collector outside and cool air from the house is pumped in one end and is pushed out as hotter air at the other end. It sits outside but is piped through a window. Seems there are many designs but the cheapest that seems effective is to make a box out of wood with one side of glass or greenhouse plastic or similar. Inside would be black nylon window screening material. Hard to describe in text. Maybe the following video can help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW_ga-b0-Gs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The concept seems you have something to "collect" the heat (in this case black nylon screen but could be many things like soda cans painted black or even aluminum turkey pans painted black) and have cool indoor air pass through or over it to pick up the heat, then move the air into the home. This collector of course is inside of a box (maybe with insulated sides and back) with a glass front. I did have a glass pane of 3 foot by 6 foot but recently accidentally broke it :-\ I may try to make a heater with greenhouse plastic to see how it works. My outdoor experiments have shown me that even using simple plastic does wonders, the issue is the simple plastic will deteriorate in the sun in no time (a month or so). Greenhouse plastic has UV stabilizers to keep it lasting longer (2-4 years usually). A glass pane will last forever if you don't break it but will cost a lot more.
If I ever do make one of these heaters and test it, I will probably do a video.
I have experimented a little with passive solar heating. Simply opening the curtains on sunny days and closing them back (being sure the curtains are thick and insulating) does wonders in a well insulated home. It saves me quite a bit of money doing this. For example, the last several days have been somewhat warm. One day in the 70s and the rest in the 50s but night temps around freezing. I open the south facing curtains when the sun makes it past the trees and leave them open till the sun goes beyond the other trees then close the curtains. It took about 10 hours to drop the inside temp from 70 when I closed the curtains to around 50. During the daylight hours I didn't have to use the heat at all as the sun kept the home warm. Was about 50 upon opening generally and around 70 by closing. There were some times it dipped into the 40s in the house overnight but a thick blanket does wonders. I'm cheap. Of course this doesn't help at all on cloudy days it seems.
I want to someday try a passive or even active solar heater setup like I seen on YouTube. Basically you have the collector outside and cool air from the house is pumped in one end and is pushed out as hotter air at the other end. It sits outside but is piped through a window. Seems there are many designs but the cheapest that seems effective is to make a box out of wood with one side of glass or greenhouse plastic or similar. Inside would be black nylon window screening material. Hard to describe in text. Maybe the following video can help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW_ga-b0-Gs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The concept seems you have something to "collect" the heat (in this case black nylon screen but could be many things like soda cans painted black or even aluminum turkey pans painted black) and have cool indoor air pass through or over it to pick up the heat, then move the air into the home. This collector of course is inside of a box (maybe with insulated sides and back) with a glass front. I did have a glass pane of 3 foot by 6 foot but recently accidentally broke it :-\ I may try to make a heater with greenhouse plastic to see how it works. My outdoor experiments have shown me that even using simple plastic does wonders, the issue is the simple plastic will deteriorate in the sun in no time (a month or so). Greenhouse plastic has UV stabilizers to keep it lasting longer (2-4 years usually). A glass pane will last forever if you don't break it but will cost a lot more.
If I ever do make one of these heaters and test it, I will probably do a video.