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Been busy creating a DIY solar collector to stick on the wall of a house to heat it. It's like a thin scaffolding that is wrapped in clear vinyl. Small blower moves air in and draws off heated air at top when the sun warms the air in the big plastic bag.
Also acts as an extra skin over wall of home.
Things are looking up Luane.
Most new homes are built with ridge vent systems. Sealing (closing off) these? Added information on solar systems.
JULY 22, 2009—10:32 PM. Luane Todd: Are the attic vents reopened during the hotter months to allow hot air release? Most new homes are built with ridge vent systems. Sealing (closing off) these vents. (The example of how my system functions answers your question)
Hi Tom, The climate where you live will determine how you handle the ridge venting. In a “combination” passive heat/cooling system there are specific aspects of “AIR MOVEMENT” that actually have to occur and enable the system to operate as a passive system. Passive means to react by the natural laws of air movement. If you have watched the smoke rise from a chimney and you lived inside said home you remember the action you had to do to allow the fire to work? The fire went out if you closed the draft and no smoke came out of the stovepipe.
The same principle applies to “Passive Solar heating and cooling”. Your passive solar heating system is operating and you are drawing air into your to be heated by the captive heat generated by the “Energy” captured from solar radiation.
IF you need this heat you simply “SUCK” this heated air into the building living area. The sucking of the attic air from the attic into your living space creates a “POSITIVE” drop in attic pressure which continues pulling outside air into the attic space and continues to pull heat from the inside chamber/roof inside surface and blowing it inside your living area.
Now we address how you cool your passively heated home. When you have warm/heated air in your attic and you now need to cool your inside living area, specific conditions must be present. In the Vancouver project I installed a temperature sensor at the outside of the building near the intake vent to tell the system that there was outside air suitable to “cool” the interior temperature to a pre-established threshold.
This sensor was located 10 inches below the air intake into the attic passive solar heating system. When the pre-established “coolness” was achieved, the system opens the 24” vent in the upper most position on the roof and in the middle of the roof and by this action the attic HOT air rises out through this opening and by that action “SUCKS” in the cool outside air into the attic space. Another sensor in the attic space reacts, when it meets the conditions determined, and “TURNS ON” the suction fan and “SUCKS” the cool air into your home.
You can also have a second sensor in your system which will open the roof vent and simply let fresh air flow in the lower vent and flow out through the top opening. This keeps your attic cool when you don’t require either heat or cooling and keeps any potential heat buildup that could force heat into your living space.
My system is totally passive, no compressors or other means to either heat or cool the air before entering the attic space. My first project in Burlington, Wash. in 1983 first produced “SOLAR HEAT” on Dec 23 rd at 3:00 in the afternoon. I went outside to check the temperature and it was “23” degrees and when I looked at my roof, it was snowing and three inches of snow had collected on my black composition roof!
On this day the attic was producing “65” degree heat and blowing it into my storage building.
Final note: MY solar heating system can produce “HOT” air approaching 100 degrees.
Now you must decide if you want to heat and cool your home, shop or business using electric baseboards, gas furnaces, oil furnaces or those cheap to operate “HEAT PUMPS" that cost thousands to install and last a few years with their added electrical bills?
The process is smooth and requires simply seeing through a different set of ideas and the opportunity was available by my realizing what was missing to allow these 15 platted waterfront-building lots to be used. IF interested I can pass on the information and the legal documents created which through an ability to see thing differently, opportunities arise that simply did not exist prior to your seeing it differently.
I agree that small and distributed power generation is crucial for security and sustainability. Of course the big utilities will continue to demand large systems, because that's their current business model - and many industrial customers will continue to buy from them. But change is not impossible. Maybe they could start renting generation equipment to consumers which allows them to afford new tech innovations... Well, just thinking out loud...
check out, just click on:
http://push.pickensplan.com/group/organizers/forum/topics/we-need-to-initiate-a-strong
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