solar heater blueprint

8/12/2019 Solar Heater Blueprint

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Objective Of This Report

My main objective for this report is to bring you the essence of building a DIY solar

heater without all the fluff and fillers...as usual.

The contents in this report teaches you how to construct a solar heater that can heatup water. But this same construction can also be used to heat up air...you only needcopper pipes with a wider diameter.

Therefore in order to suit your personal heating needs, I'd encourage you (since thisis a relatively simple project) to take the design concept and modify it to build a

customized solar heater of your own.

By the end of this report, you'll be able to do just that -- design and build for yourself acomplete solar heater -- and enjoy the fruits of your labor straight after.

If you're ready to begin, let's dive right in...


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Contents

1. How Does A Solar Heater Work

2. The Materials You'll Need And How To Use Them To Construct A Solar Heater

3. An Overall View Of Your Solar Heater

4. Using Your Solar Heater


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How Does A Solar Heater WorkA solar heater works the same way as a greenhouse does, converting solar radiationinto heat and trapping it a confined space. By conduction and convection, water or air

can be heated up to a reasonably high temperature as it passes through this heatedenvironment.

Unlike a solar panel that relies on photovoltaic cells, a solar heater converts solarenergy directly to heat. Therefore its efficiency can be much higher than when solar-generated electricity is used to heat up water (or air).

Many households experience a significant decrease in energy bills because a solarheater often provides about 75% to 85% of their total heating needs. And the goodnews is solar heaters are much cheaper to build than a solar (photovoltaic) panel. It'salso more tolerant to mistakes made by hobbyists.

Best of all, this project takes only one weekend to complete... then you can sit backand let your solar heater produce heat whenever there are sunny days.


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The Materials You'll Need

Plywood

Plywood is chosen for the heat collector box due to its strength. Wood is also a goodinsulator and this prevents heat from escaping into the surrounding.

The base of the heat collector can be about 3 feet wide by 6 feet long. (Usually I'd use1/2 inch thick plywood.) The depth inside the box should be about 1.5 to 2.0 inches.

You should paint the interior

of the box black.




Super Glue & Screws

The heat collector box can be fitted together (piece by piece), temporarily, using blobsof super glue before they are finally tightened by self-tapping screws. Super glueprevents the joints from moving as you tighten the screws.




Corrugated Metal Sheet

After you have constructed the wooden box, cut the corrugated metal sheet so that itfits snugly to the inside of the box. Then paint the corrugated metal on both sides withblack paint. The paint protects the metal from rust, and the color of the paint ensuresthat maximum heat is absorbed.

Corrugated metal is used because it traps airbetween the metal sheet and wood. This forms

a good insulator to retain heat inside the box.




Copper Pipes & Joints

After the corrugated metal sheet is cut, you can bend or join the copper pipes so itcovers the entire surface of the corrugated metal sheet (as much as possible).

Note: Ascertain your copper pipe's minimum bending radius and never over-bendthem. Also, the thinner your pipes, the faster those water will heat up inside.

Once your copper pipes are bent (or joined) into shape, you can paint them black.




Lead-Free Solder & Flux

If you're using joints for your copper pipes instead of bending them, you'll need tosolder the joints with lead-free solder. This is important as you will not want drinkablewater to come into contact with lead.

Applying some flux at the joint helps make your soldering better and easier.




Paint

All surfaces in the heat collector box must be painted black. This is because black isthe color that can absorb most heat compared to all other colors.

However there are also different types of black paint -- glossy and matte. The paintyou should go for are those matte, non-shiny types. These ensure maximum radiation-to-heat conversion as sunlight falls on its surface.

Note: Always allow the paint to dry thoroughly in a well-ventilated place (away fromdirect sunlight) between each coat and before covering the box with acrylic.

Note: Aim to have at least 3 coats of paint for your wooden heat collector box so that itcan last for as long as possible.




Acrylic Sheet

The size of the acrylic sheet should be sufficient to cover the entire heat collector box.In this particular case, it's 3 feet wide by 6 feet long.

To fit the acrylic covering over the box, drill the holes and counter-sink them so thatyour self-tapping screws can go through them with slight clearance. Then screw themwith care against the wooden edge of the box.



An Overall View Of Your Solar HeaterAs cold water (or air) enters the copper pipes, heat will be transfered to the water byconduction and convection. The slower the water moves, the hotter it'll get. On a bright

sunny day, it's possible to heat the water till it's steaming hot. Careful... it might burnyour hands -- I had experienced it once.



Using Your Solar HeaterThere are many applications for your solar heater. You can use it to prepare warmwater for a relaxing bath or heat up your swimming pool for a dip. You can also run the

hot water into a radiator to warm up your house.

Alternatively, you can fit thicker copper pipes into your heat collection box and run airthrough them so you can warm up the air in your home. For this, one-inch copperpipes will do fine.

How you use your solar heater is only limited to your imagination. So observe where

the heating coils are in your house, then plan to replace the major part of theirworkload with your solar heater. You'll be surprised how much electricity or gas youcan save just by using a cheap DIY solar heater to satisfy your heating needs.


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Any Questions?As always, this material is meant to be a practical, hand-on introduction on how tobuild your own solar heater.

If you have any questions in your mind or are interested in a relevant topic that youcannot find on www.DIYSolarPanelsWorld.com, please feel free to contact us via thecontact form and we'll get your questions answered or prepare some materialsspecially for you.

Hopefully you've got at least one thing out of this report.

That's all for now... talk soon!

solar heater blueprint

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