Passive Solar Heating Panels

[Morris Dovey]

Over the past month I've put together a web page describing a passive
solar heating panel capable of providing 100% of the heat needed to
maintain a comfortable temperature 24/7 in a conventional structure with
reasonably good insulation and which is reasonably snug. The panels need
to be installed in unshaded south-facing walls.

These panels work reasonably well in overcast conditions and will
produce heat whenever there's enough sunlight to read a newspaper. They
work unreasonably well in clear-sky direct sunlight.

Five years' experience in central Iowa indicates that each square foot
of panel area can heat ~125 cubic feet of air with enough additional
heat for storage to maintain that much air at a comfortable temperature
for more than a week of completely dark days.

Since I began this project in 2001, I've had some good advise from some
of the folks here at alt.solar.thermal, and this is probably as good a
time as there will ever be to acknowledge that help was essential to the
overall project success. You guys know who you are - thank you!

The web page will remain a work in progress for some time. If you find
the content interesting, I suggest linking to the page rather than
downloading a snapshot - and I ask that you not re-publish the page or
any of the content until I have it in final form.

The page is at http://www.iedu.com/Solar/Panels

--
Morris Dovey

[Bob F]

Ummmm. Your site, at least the first two pages I looked at, seem to want a huge
screen width to display the full width. I'd have to scroll back and forth to
read each line.

[Morris Dovey]

On 1/23/13 8:05 PM, Bob F wrote:

> Ummmm. Your site, at least the first two pages I looked at, seem to want a huge
> screen width to display the full width. I'd have to scroll back and forth to
> read each line.

Interesting. That entire page is tucked into a table constrained to a
500-pixel width:

<table align=center border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 hspace=0
vspace=0 width=500><tr><td align=justify>

It's working on my machine under firefox, and I can't imagine why it's
not on yours. Very strange.

All I know to do is express my regrets...

--
Morris Dovey

[kpl...@gmail.com]

That is some good planning and analysis. Thanks for sharing. One of my recommendations would be to use transparent UV glazing to kill any airborne microbes, which works with collectors that are not closed like in some soda can designs. I would also angle to collect summer rays which can be put to work.

[Morris Dovey]

You�re very welcome. I hope the write-up is helpful.

I would have preferred UV transparency too, but I felt that safety and
panel longevity were more important than the UV energy component�s
contribution to heat output.

You and everyone else are free to find and use improved materials and
make your own trade-offs - and if you�re able to significantly improve
heat output or make secondary improvements without sacrificing heat
output, safety, or longevity please share here. People all around the
world will benefit.

--
Morris Dovey
http://www.iedu.com/Solar/