treehugger.com — Can you build your own solar thermal panel for under $5? The guys at the The Sietch group say you can. They gives you step-by-step on how to build one yourself. You'll need the back grill of a fridge, a floor mat, some window glass, tape, tubing, and foil.
Jun 23, 2006 View in Crawl 4
Closed AccountJun 24, 2006
But what's it for? He said the water tastes nasty after going through the tubes, so does that mean it's non potable due to traces of freon and what not? So what is this, an outdoor shower?
itsmekirbyJun 24, 2006
While I agree that linking to blogs or other sites is bad, the author of the real article doesn't get 0. They both get money (except for the very minor effect of some people just looking at the leeching site and not the original site).It would be better to think of it as leeching instead of stealing. But it's still bad nonetheless, just don't get caught up in your own hyperbole making statements like that.
jamminnJun 24, 2006
Looks pretty sweet. Cheap too. I have to agree, would cost more than 20 pounds.However one of these is not really going to do much for any decent sized pool. I work for SolarTwin [SolarTwin.com] and we provide flat plate panels, purely for solar water heating. Solar special heating is a no brainier; the need for special heating is inversely proportional to the sun. We recommend one panel per 10m2 of pool to take the edge of and two per 10m2 to heat it nicely. It can get to 85 C at which point the semi-selective non reflective coating reflects light radiation away to prevent over heating. We use silicon micorbore tubing to and plumb direct to avoid nasty anti-freeze and maintenance issues; it also means if you have a vented system there is no need to replace your existing cylinder. Our pump is solar powered too by a small PV collector - no additional electrical costs and its fully automated; basically it only pumps when the sun is out. [ShamelessPlug]Great article though, DIY is a good plan. However not everyone is DIY minded. There should be bigger grants available (in the UK) for people wanting to use renewable energy sources, and less hoops to jump through. One has to have 270mm of loft insulation, CW insulation (if possible), use energy saving light bulbs and have some control over their heating. All for a 400 pound grant. Its hypocrisy on a local and governmental level - on one hand they fully support renewable energy then on the other give a relatively small grant that is subject to meeting the above requirements. While the situation remains like this solar thermal is going to stay mainly a thing for deep green and people with cash to burn (poor pun :( ) Anyone who is looking purely for a financial reason, is burning mains gas, and has done a little bit of research will realise that they payback period is at least twenty years; at current fuel prices. Even using oil or LPG people are still put off; the grant situation definitely does not help.
shaherazadJun 24, 2006
Hell, you've already got the hot water. Add a few more panels, a turbine and you've got yourself a generator.
scytleJun 24, 2006
I built this, and wrote the article, this panel would be best suited to be used as a batch heater for a bath in the woods, if you want a real solar thermal system i would suggest checking out some of the many commercially available solar thermal heating systems. Both for the home, and for pools and for camping. Pool heaters use large arrays of black plastic pipes (to avoid the problem with chlorine and copper) and home systems use copper pipes, camping systems usually use a large black plastic bag of some kind that you hang in a tree while you are out and when you come back you have a large amount of hot water. I work for a company called clean energy design (www.cleanenergydesign.com) that builds and installs commercial solar thermal systems (as well as pv, and wind turbines). I got the idea when I realized that the back of a fridge would be perfect for a heat collector. Also heat (infrared radiation) does not pass easily through glass, light however does. The light goes into the panel, is absorbed by the black tubes, converted to heat (infrared) and is trapped by the glass. The same way your car heats up in the sun. The project only cost me about 3 dollars American. The idea is that you can reuse old stuff and make it for very low amounts of money. If you purchased everything new it would cost a lot, and be a waste, (why buy a new fridge just to rip the back off). I am glad you all liked it. I would suggest you all to try out your own projects as they are fun, and are very good at teaching you the principles involved in this kind of technology.
scytleJun 24, 2006
We have the same problem in the states, we do all the paperwork for our customers because it would be crazy to make them do all the forms and stuff that needs to be done. But it has to start someplace right?
jamminnJun 24, 2006
Of course, its better than a kick in the teeth.A bigger grant would be benifical though. And not just from a buisness point of view, from the main reason behind it - reducing carbon emmissions. Whats the grant situation like in the US? England, Wales and NI seem to have it quite bad though - only four hundred pounds. Scotland = 30% up to 3,500 grant Ireland = 800 euros per m2 of collector.
scytleJun 24, 2006
We can get 1000 - 1500 dollars for a solar thermal system and usualy about 50% of the cost for a PV installations, if you go to <a class="user" href="http://dsireusa.org/">http://dsireusa.org/</a> you can find out what each state and federal rebates are. Its is different for every state and very complicated.
fyngyrzJun 24, 2006
Heat exchanger == problem solved. :)