Most professional solar heathers (and coolers) uses water in pipes and tanks, they are in the higher cost regime than passive solar (like a stone wall behind a greenhouse wall, “The troombe wall”) They are also based on electric pumps, So for emergency they need a backup system (Solar Photo Voltaic system)
A simpler but quite effective product is the Solarventi. Its a air based system, and do not store the heath, but if sun shines and you have a south facing wall or roof, this one will heath your home. It gives out 20–30´Celcius (68–86 F) hotter air than the outside temperature. It also gives you ventilation and dry air (very good for empty cottages etc) And for the people with some DIY skills, its very easy to build your self, and much cheaper. It wil not keep your house warm during the night, but then you are sleeping in your good and comfy sleeping bag under that warm wool blanket anyway. The essence is to heath your house so you are able to function well during the day for a cheap cost, it will also cut your energy bills. And for those sunless days you would need a alternative of course)
You need:
A small PV solar panel ( the portable ones used for recharging ipods and cellphones etc should do fine,
A old computer fan. They are ewerywhere!
A clear greenhouse channel plate. 4.5 cm or even better a thicker one
A thin blackpainted aluminium plate or stretchgrid painted black.
Insulation, flat whit metallic coating (metallic like those emergency blankets, look in carpart shops or use a camping matrass ) aprox 1–3 cm thick.
A frame, wood or aluminium. Some silikon to glue the thing toghter, and some screws.
You make a hole in the wall for a ordinary vent, and thats it. The bigger the better, just use Solarventi data as a clue on how effective it is regarding size..
You construct it as a sandwich. From out to in: Greenhouse plate - 1 cm air (outer chamber)- Black and perforated aluminium −2 cm of air (inner chamber)- Metallic surface - Insulation.
Drill holes in the bottom part of frame leading into the outer chamber, How many and how big? Try it out, but make it a smaller area than the vent hole that is placed on the upper part of the backside. (hot air rises up you know :-) Insulate the sides, top and bottom of frame as well.
The PV solarpanel is placed inside or near the collector. The idea is that when sun shines, it makes the ventilator start. So the controller inteligence of the system is embedded whitout any fancy microcontrollers etc (you may replace this with a inteligent switch and your finger using some other power source, but then it would not be so fun…..) You may also try out some small embedded solar ventilators as used in boats an carawans.
When sun shines the computer fan will suck the cold outside air into the collector, heated by the sun it will pass the perforation and be blowed into the house. The slower the air blows the hotter it will be. The fan is placed in the vent hole on the back side of the collector.
I havent tried it out yet, only made a small prototype 20×20 cm, but its sure gets hot. And this is a very well tried out prinsiple for solar collectors. Please post some experience if you try this out. Its patented so dont start producing it for sale.. And for those who claim “there may not be time to go for solar power before the SHTF, this is such a small and simple projekt that you may finnish it the first weeks of your SIP :-D
Thank you for posting useful information. Information that allows me to increase my chances for survival…and live in a new and exciting manner.
bumb for those winter sunny days..
Urdar-Norway – at 17:30
Fascinating! I live in a cold climate and always enjoy your posts. Because I’m in a city, and there are codes, and ordinances, I’m not able to implement many of your suggestions - yet. But nice to have the info in the event of a ‘breakdown.
BTW - I’ve already ‘bubble-wrapped’ my (small) bathroom windows and there is an appreciable difference! Amazing!