In the interest of full disclosure, this was not an original idea or project! These things have been around for a while, both as commercial products and D-I-Y. I based my design on the best one I could find online in 2008 (here's the link). Each one I build is better than the last and I'm willing to bet you could build one too! All you need is a South-facing window and less than $20.
The first solar furnace was very crude, but worked very well. It cost about $7 to build. It was installed in one of the 'sky lights' or ceiling windows of my solarium. It was installed in February of 2008 and the hottest reading recorded was in April of 2008... 82C (185F) on the surface of the panel and over 52C air temperature in the room.
The orginal Pop Can Solar Furnace Post. There is a link to pictures on Facebook, or another link in the comments if you can't see them there.The first temperature readings from the solar furnace.
Neat pictures from the hottest readings in the solarium.
Some Q & A about the installation from a blog reader.
The second pop can solar furnace was built for one of the normal windows that face South. This one cost under $20, but could be made cheaper if you have some recycled fence boards or other light wood around your garage.
This design does block most of the available light coming into the room, so it may not be the best option if it's the only window in a room.
Step by step instructions (with pictures) on building a pop can solar furnace window insert.
Part 1Part 2
Part 3
Results and thermometer readings at the end of October, 2009.
Thanks for checking out the pop can solar furnace! Look for a new design and other projects in the near future!
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3 comments:
How do you know how much your heater is contributing since a solarium will warm naturally with sunshine?
That's an excellent question and one well worth asking! Any efforts we make to improve our footprint or heating efforts should be tested and checked.
In the case of the solarium, I haven't run any formal numbers, because to do a really good comparison, I'd need to find a day with a known outdoor temperature and number of hours of sunlight, record the final temperature in the solarium, then find the output on a day with the same outdoor temp and hours of sunlight with the panel removed or covered with a white sheet.
In the coming weeks, I'll see what I can do to make these measurements!
I've been wanting to do this type of project myself over the years but was never properly motivated I guess. Thanx for letting us live vicariously (and lazily) thru your efforts Mateo lol.
I have NO knowlege whatsoever about electrical connections but one thought I had on a fan system was using cpu fans from a computer on the ends of the pop can columns and running each via a solar panel from a cheap garden light. I'm sure these fans are a dollar a dozen or maybe even free from an ACES depot?
I have no idea if this would work as I think the fans run off AC power?? like I said I have no idea but in theory that seems like a reasonable fan system to me.
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