Tuesday, January 1, 2013

How Solar Heating Works


Have you ever stood or sat in a window in the middle of winter and just taken in the sun and enjoyed its warmth?  What if you could bottle that heat or make it heat the entire room you are sitting in?  What if you could put a simple two foot by three or four foot box in the window that would heat the air upwards of 120F inside of it and push that solar heated air out into your room during peak sunlight exposure?  If the sun is shining for a couple of hours could you then have free heat during that time.  It can be done.  It is being done in my little apartment.


I have been working on that idea for several years.  Trying one idea and tossing it out, trying another idea and tossing that out, and the ideas kept getting better.  Trial and error is the only way to make the best solar window heater there is.  And that is what I have been doing.  I've built tens of different box designs and each one did just a little better than the previous one.  Researching materials along the way to find the best heat gain materials that outperform all others.  Researching specialty coatings that capture most of the specific spectrum of sunlight that provides heat.  Researching airflow systems to move the heat from inside the box to inside your home with the utmost efficiency.

I have been exploring and testing solar heating for several years now and it is amazing how solar heating performs.  Anyone can throw in a bunch of metal into a box and seal it up and get free heat from the sun but the ability to make it actually work takes time to understand and perfect.  I found the best way to make the airflow and heat gain balance out so that you get consistent heat when the sun is shining.  And all you have to do is put the box in the window inside of your home.  Plug in the controllable fan and you have free heat as soon as the box heats up during peak solar times.  Free heat from the sun.  I should mention that I am also working on systems that you don't need to even plug in.  Self contained free heat from just the power of the sun and a mini solar panel.

How the solar heater boxes work is a combination of metals, specialty coatings, heat retention systems to hold the heat on partly cloudy days and the processing of the heat with a temperature controlled fan system.  Some people will argue that you get the same heat benefit with just the sun shining through the window but that ignores the facts of solar heating.  Solar heating concentrates the suns rays on the materials inside the box raising the temperature far beyond any solar heat gain by hitting the floor or other materials in a room.  It captures that heat and heats the air inside the chambers of the box which then turns on a programmable fan that forces the heated air out of the box.  Changing over a 10 x 12 rooms air several times per hour at the heated air temperature.

Feel free to comment or check us out in the video below with one of our first prototypes.  You can check out our website at SunSystemDesigns.com or find us on facebook under Sun System Designs and please put a LIKE on our page.  We look forward to hearing from you and your continued interest in solar heating with just he power of the sun.  Below is our video on YouTube on one of our prototypes in action.  Check it out and spread the word to friends and family.

2 comments:

  1. Gladly I found this great blog and I wish I could be able to see the blog of gravity furnace Los Angeles. Nice to be here.

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  2. Thanks for this post. I wonder how the heating companies in Calgary plan to upgrade their stock. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete