Eco Factor: Solar-heated air to heat your house without electricity.
Winter season has just knocked its way into our homes, making them cold and uncomfortable to live in without any additional heating source. While heaters can solve the problem, they consume a lot of electricity, which can jeopardize your green credentials. Solar air heaters can keep your house warm, without using even a single watt of electric power. Such heaters can be made at home if you have good DIY skills or can be purchased from the market of course after paying much more than what a DIYer would spend.
Solar air heaters don’t carry any solar panels to generate electricity. Instead, they use the sun’s energy to heat air as it passed through a “thermal chimney” – a chamber with glass or acrylic glazing mounted opposite a dark surface that heats up in sunlight, further heating the air surrounding it and the thermal chimney. Since hot air is lighter than cold air, natural convection transfers the hot air from the thermal chimney setup to the room. Users might also make use of solar-powered or standard fans to speed up the process. Readymade heaters are priced between $400 and $1,750. If you want to cut down on the costs it’s better you design the heater yourself. It requires basic tools and some DIY skills. This way you won’t be spending more than $75 on the setup.
The Dark Side:
During winters houses remain much cooler in the evenings and nights. Solar air heaters won’t be able to heat your home during night time or even on a cloudy day. The use of a thermal mass, such as a cement board, can provide warm air even after sunset, but again this also works for just a couple of hours.
Via: SFGate
