Solar Heater Build

Hey alls..

Well since the weather has put my shelter project on hold for a few days, I decided to get another project I'd been kicking around done.

Our house is ~2k sq. ft. and heated with a large wood stove. We have 2 electric furnaces but we try to keep them off and have done so without issue... however 2 rooms in the house stay pretty cool in the winter. Up until now, that wasn't a problem.. however our son is due at the end of November and one of those rooms is going to be his.

With all that said.. I had been looking at solar heating panels for a while... all the different designs, etc.. and finally decided to give it a shot.

My panel is 4' x 8' using double layered aluminum screen for the heat absorber and green house panels for the glazing.

Here's how it went...

Treated 2x6s for the frame

Polyiso foam board to insulate the box

4 x 8 box with 1/2" treated plywood backing

Double layered 1/2" polyiso

Screen frame made from 2x2s and 1x2s

Both sides covered in aluminum insect screen

Interior of the box painted with high heat flat black

6" outlet duct...

Screen rack and inlet duct...

Glazing installed/sealed

And standing upright...

As soon as I finished up... the sun went AWOL... so no testing yet. Hoping to get a base built for it in a couple days and get it put in position. Gotta wait for the sun to come out again to see the best location for it.

Anyways.. Once I get it installed and plumbed (which it will be forced air).. I'll post back the outcome. If it works as it should, I plan to build a larger one and roof mount it for heating the main rooms during the day (just to help cut down on wood consumption).

More to come

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Solar Heater Build