Solar Air Heaters

Does anybody know anybody building solar air heaters locally? It is only to take away the morning chill. Here is a youtube page of different designs This is a portable one (forgive his religious tone, but he gets the job done)

Sometimes called a popcan heater. I could build it myself, but if I could involve a local Mexican to build one, helping source materials, etc., then that person might have a little sideline and it is a little bit of recycling too. This heater could be valued by many in Central Mexico.

What a great idea!

Z

Morning chill ?? How long would it take the sun to warm metal cans that have been out all night.

Buy a heater

I've seen these in NM and the southwest, they work best later in the day to reduce the need for fossil fueled heating. They worked great in NM because although the air is cold in the winter, the sun is very strong like it is here.

Not sure they'd be very useful for early morning taking the chill off. What we did was put in a big solar system which covers using electrical space heaters for short periods when we first get up.

My solution to the morning chill is to stay in bed.
I get up once the air is warm enough.

This fellow has some variations to the design and some real world results.
http://www.greenoptions.com/t/1975/new-design-for-solar-air-heater-reposted
These are the 4 foot by 8 foot panels. Not portable, but not heavy at all. I'm thinking 3 foot by 4 foot portables. I think part of the trick is the output of the fans - maybe a high CFM which uses 120AC through the inverter and another 12 volt DC running off solar if the sun is too weak.

I have a propane ceramic heater, a fireplace with lots of wood, and a charcoal brazier.

When I lived in GA, I built a 32X40' workshop and put a 10X32' attached greenhouse to the south side.

By 10am, if the sun was shining, the temp in the greenhouse would be over 80 even if it was 20 outside. I sucked the air off the top of the greenhouse and dumped it into the workshop. By 11am, the workshop was cozy.

I had 10 55 gallon drums of water painted black in the greenhouse and the temperature would never drop below 50 even if it was freezing outside.

I'll bet a glass enclosed area with barrels or even bricks with some kind of air circulation could hold enough heat overnight to keep the chill down.

Jaja.......sounds like a lot of work when around here you only need a propane heater and a $140 peso bottle of gas for three months of the year.

CanuckBob wrote:Jaja.......sounds like a lot of work when around here you only need a propane heater and a $140 peso bottle of gas for three months of the year.

I've been here 7 years and never run a heater of any kind. I don't think my house has ever gotten below 60 inside.

The most comfortable house I ever lived in had in floor hot water heat. You would have to install it at construction but with a solar hot water heater and a small solar driven pump, it sure would be cheap to run.

Radiant heating in the slab is definitely the way to go. You need the concrete to be in a 'waffle' pattern so you can repair the water lines, if they ever break, and to figure out the comfort zones. Don't forget you could run cool water in the three months of the year when it is hot. Nothing like walking barefoot on cool stone floors when it is hot.

Canuckbob - there are people who die in this country in cold spells. They cannot even afford gas, or use wood fires indoors and suffocate. The solar air heater could be built economically using recycled wooden pallets, pop cans, a nail gun and a chop saw. The downfall is that I thought that 12 volt, 13 watt (.5 amp) solar panels have dropped in price - they have not - yet.

Chillin:
Thanks for posting that.

CHILLIN wrote:Radiant heating in the slab is definitely the way to go. You need the concrete to be in a 'waffle' pattern so you can repair the water lines, if they ever break, and to figure out the comfort zones. Don't forget you could run cool water in the three months of the year when it is hot. Nothing like walking barefoot on cool stone floors when it is hot.

Canuckbob - there are people who die in this country in cold spells. They cannot even afford gas, or use wood fires indoors and suffocate. The solar air heater could be built economically using recycled wooden pallets, pop cans, a nail gun and a chop saw. The downfall is that I thought that 12 volt, 13 watt (.5 amp) solar panels have dropped in price - they have not - yet.

People die in many countries during cold spells. Probably more so in the US and Canada than here in Mexico. The Mexicans have been living here without gas and/or electricity for hundreds of years before any of us got here. I think they have it figured out.