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Topic:	Solar Hot Air Collectors
Author:	Ben Mancini
Company:	EV Solar Products, Inc 2655 N. Hwy 89 Chino Valley, AZ 86323
Phone:	(928) 636-2201
eMail:	Info@evsolar.com
Web Site:	http://www.evsolar.com

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Solar Hot Air Collectors Can Be A Cost Effective Retrofit

With rising fuel costs a well designed, simple hot air collector can bring daytime comfort to an otherwise cold room and pay for itself in a short period of time.

How It Works

An insulated weather-tight box, with glazing on the front side and a black painted metal absorber plate in between, creates an air passage for room air to circulate and achieve a 30 to 50 degree F temperature rise.  A 4’ by 7’ foot unit can be mounted vertically on the south wall of a home, with only a couple of 6” by 6” holes through the wall for supply and return air. It can work passively or with a small 90 cfm blower. 

One company uses recycled aluminum cans for the absorber plate and air passage, creating a good balance of air turbulence and unrestricted air flow. A good design is very important for an efficient heater, the difficulty of building it is fairly low.


Benefits

By keeping the application very simple, no storage and no duct work, the efficiency is high and the cost is low.  A relatively small unit (28 sq.ft.) can heat up to a 1,000 square feet of floor area.  The unit can be easily retrofitted to an existing home, shop or garage. 




Given the low-tech construction, this can be a total do-it-yourself project to keep costs even lower. Commercially made units are also available. Because the technology is so simple-- there is little that can go wrong.  Should the rare problem arise in the unit, troubleshooting such a simple technology is easy.

Drawbacks

This is a sunshine only heating system.

Ben Mancini is the owner of EV Solar Products, Inc. a renewable energy systems design and installation company.  EV Solar Products, Inc. specializes in solar electric and solar hot water system installations.