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Now THAT is a solar house! Beautiful work - congratulations. My envy bug is biting me again.

Nothing but empirical evidence to me ... but I'd bet the reason we dont' see more of these is most people buy houses that they don't design and/or don't build themselves. We buy houses that already exist. And even today, developers build as cheaply as possible, for a quick turn-around.

And sadly, if someone has the time and/or money to build their own, they most likely don't care about energy savings. They just want lots of rooms, and heating/cooling all that space is an after-thought. Long after! Argh.

My house was built in 1826, and my income is $1200/month, so do-it-yourself retro-fitting is about all I can handle. When houses were built in those days, you wanted as much light inside as possible, and you didn't heat the house interior regardless of the temps outside. Thus, lots of windows all around.

First thing I did when I bought the place in 1991 was to plant deciduous trees on the south side, and designed what I call "sun beamers" - black-painted sheets of aluminum that fit inside the south window sashes between the window and storm window. Slightly open the lower sash and you have a miniature passive solar collector that yields more heat than just a double pane window.

Nial - any chance to see a link of interior shots of the house? I'm assuming you use stone or concrete as a heat sink, and removable insulators inside over the glazing at night?

Thanks.
Tom
 
And lest we think that solar homes are something "new" ...

"Now in houses with a south aspect, the sun's rays penetrate into the porticos in winter, but in the summer, the path of the sun is right over our heads and above the roof, so that there is shade. If then this is the best arrangement, we should build the south side loftier to get the winter sun and the north side lower to keep out the winter winds. "

Socrates, quoted in Xenophon's "Memorabilia", about 2400 years ago.

T.
 
angelfj said:
Tony: I love your garage with attached house!

BTW, whay is your grass so brown? :jester:
Click to expand...
Winter in north Alabama....we see brown when you see white!

I agree that Nial's house is super & would also like to see more photos!

And, Tom,I saw on the web site embedded in your magazine article link about the black painted sheets of aluminum in soth-facing windows.....unfortunately, when we built our house, we built covered porches on 3 sides (old Southern thing to keep heat of sun out in summer. We do have a few south-facing windows on the corner/side that's our open deck...hmmm.

Going to Lowe's today to get materials to build one of those solar collectors you built for my tall, skinny garage windows to see how it works.
 
So, I've figured out each of my collectors will be 26"x6'8" simply due to the fact that the clear polycarb panels are 26" wide.

To start out, I bought some 1/2x4x8 IMP Sheath (black board) that has a 1.3R-rating (don't think I'm too concerned about R-rating) for the back. I also bought some cheap floor vents that I can use to cover the vent holes in the black board on the inside (they have screen inside them that'll work to keep insects from going up inside to build nests (i.e., wasps).

Now, I've gotta figure out if I want to buy charcoal aluminum screen or brite aluminum screen. Which did you use?

Think I'll start by building the 2 center conductors as they'll be tied together...then, I'll measure the difference in cool air going in the bottom & warm air coming out the top before adding all the others.

In your photo below, I take it that the area at the bottom below the screen is your bottom vents? No screen over them but screen over your top vents.

FLB3YWXADLEYF7I3IE.MEDIUM.jpg
 
<span style="font-style: italic">"Now, I've gotta figure out if I want to buy charcoal aluminum screen or brite aluminum screen. Which did you use?

Think I'll start by building the 2 center conductors as they'll be tied together...then, I'll measure the difference in cool air going in the bottom & warm air coming out the top before adding all the others.

In your photo below, I take it that the area at the bottom below the screen is your bottom vents? No screen over them but screen over your top vents."</span>

Black screen absorbs much more light/heat. Anything bright reflects. Think "glare reduction" under a plane's windscreen.

I think it's a great idea to start with those two center units. That should convince you asap.

Yes, the screening starts *above* the lower vents. You want the air to rise *through* the screen - not just behind it - so it absorbs as much heat as possible.

Tony, you're really halfway there already, with those tall windows already on the south face of the garage. How do you keep the heat from baking you in the summer now? I'm really surprised you haven't already put up awnings or something.

Tom
 
I've got a 2-1/2' overhang if you noticed...the sun is higher in the sky during summer so it doesn't bear down so much as in winter...but, I have been thinking about how to block it altogether.

Back to the collector...would it be better for me to put closeable louvers in the bottom or top? I'm thinking bottom would keep lower air from excaping...but am also thinking just a little plastic flap over the top would be better....
 
Couple ways to do that - I'm assuming here you'll leave the vents fully closed in the summer, but open/close them daily in winter.

So ... just put a fully-closable flap (door) on each vent (top and bottom) that you'll use only twice a year.

BUT - let the convection currents of air actually close a light plastic flap all by themselves. That way you don't have to worry about doing it manually. (I suggest Saran wrap.)

The "default" position of the Saran wrap is hanging straight down to block the vent. When the air warms, the air opens the flap at the top and enter the room (garage). Same for the lower vent - just in reverse.

When the air cools down, the upper flap just drops closed by itself - same for the lower flap.

Put the upper flap on the inside of the vent, so the flow of hot air during daylight actually opens the flap. Put the lower flap on the outside of the vent, so the flow of cool air during daylight opens the flap.

That way, when the box cools (night or clouds), the flaps just lower themselves to seal the vent.

Tom
 
By 'inside', I'm assuming you mean 'in the garage'...conversely, by 'outside', I think you mean in the collector?

Is Saran wrap strong enough for a permanent solution?
 
I just stumbled across this thread and saw "passive solar" mentioned. I visited with a friend up in central Maine about 24 years ago after he had just moved into his new MIT-designed passive solar home in Farmington, ME. Totally heated by the sun, save the use of less than a half a cord of wood a year for the absolute dead of winter in his 2 stoves. I was truly amazed how even air circulation was designed to move the warm air around the house through pathways and trap doors. Trombe walls, water barrels, he had it all! I am sure after these 24 years that Pete's home was paid for completely by his fuel savings. If anyone wants to see it, I could give you his locale and name. Truly amazing.

Now, talking about passive solar, down here in the Old South (I guess Tony would be considered in this), homes were designed years ago with "passive solar" in mind, that is, pre-airconditioning. Off the ground (for air movement under the house), porches on 3 sides and large overhangs to protect from the sun. Steep roofs, etc. One can still live an antebellum home sans AC and not smother to death.
 
Tony: <span style="font-style: italic">By 'inside', I'm assuming you mean 'in the garage'...conversely, by 'outside', I think you mean in the collector?

Is Saran wrap strong enough for a permanent solution?</span>

Yep - inside = in the garage; outside = in the collector. The plastic wrap just moves when the airflow changes, to keep any cool air in the collector from entering your garage. It'll last a couple years. Remember, the plastic wrap isn't for a "permanent summertime seal" - you use the normal vent door to do that.

Bill - great that your buddy could build that house. I've always envied guys who could start from scratch like that, especially designed by MIT! And it probably paid for itself in the first couple years, considering all the circulation and heat-saving techniques he used. Totally agree on that "Old South" passive idea. Socrates described it over 2000 years ago, and ante-bellum southern architects were well versed in the "classics".

Plant trees all around the house for shade. And the high ceilings, spacious hallways, tall windows, and north-south orientation worked great. Open the top floor south windows and first floor north windows at night, and cool night air flowed through the house 'til the sun came up. Close the windows (and shutters) on the south in the daytime, and you keep the heat out. And the interior heat rose to the ceilings, so the floor stayed relatively cooler. Still works.

Tom
 
Yep, Bill, I'm intimately aware of the old Southern 'solar' building techniques....we employed several of them when we built our house....covered porches on 3 sides with open deck on South side, steep roof, house is 3' to 5' off ground depending on slope of land, French doors in west facing dining room open onto a screened dining porch, east facing French doors in our bedroom open to a screened sitting room (or what would've been called a 'sleping porch' in the old South)....open the French doors & there's a constant breeze through the house, ceiling fans in every room, French doors off TV room onto deck allow for extra ventilation in the day......all windows are floor-to-ceiling & also allow ventilation when open...2nd floor ceilings are open to the rafters, 1st floor is partially open to the 2nd floor, entry is open all way to roof, & we even designed a central, open 'dog trot' into the hose (kitchen is located in it - in the dead center of the house)....in our hot, muggy summers, we only use the AC for a little over a month! PLus our huge dry rock fireplace on the south side conducts the sun's heat all through the day...that heat passes through the chimney into the open den/kitchen area when the dampers are open.

& Jerri has an outside kitchen for the summer months (like in the old South) to keep from heating the house when she prepares meals.

I didn't go solar when I built it, I just remembered the lessons of my grandparents!

Oh, my house is timber frame construction with 6' thick styrofoam insulated walls & roof...its like living in a styrofoam cooler in the summer & in a styrofoam coffee cup in the winter!

<span style="font-weight: bold">REAR VIEW (the tin roofed portion is for our hot tub & Jerr's outdoor kitchen):</span>
green02.JPG


<span style="font-weight: bold">EAST VIEW</span>
green05.JPG


<span style="font-weight: bold">FRONT VIEW</span>
green07.JPG


<span style="font-weight: bold">West View:</span>
green08.JPG


Between house & garage is our New Orleans-style garden that we view from our dining porch. (I'll add photos of it later)


Oh, here's a photo of our stained glass front door set in the logs of the 'dog trot' portion of the house:

green06.JPG
 
Okay, here's a link to the little courtyard between the house & garage (west side of house; east side of garage) & a view of the dining porch area of the house.....in the summer, the courtyard is always 10-or-so degrees cooler than other parts of the yard & keeps the dining porch comfortable.

...oh, the stone wall that's covered with ivy was used by Confederate forces in a skirmish with the Yankees....seems both armies pulled into the area after dark and made camp - it was a dark, foggy night, not unusual for around here......the next morning when they awoke, they were facing one another & I happen to have the wall the Confederates used for cover in the small skirmish that followed (fence has been redone & shortened in length & some of the walls on other properties completely removed)! As I understand, both forces withdrew from the field of battle when night again fell.
 

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Wait, you still have <span style="font-weight: bold">YANKEES</span> wanderin round them parts!?
 
TR6BILL said:
Wait, you still have <span style="font-weight: bold">YANKEES</span> wanderin round them parts!?
Click to expand...
Only those few who are moving in because they've learned how great it is here....hehehehe!
 
So, I'm working on my 1st solar heater using Tom's (NutmegCT) example..I work a bit slower than most folks but, eventually, I get there...y'day I got the first blackboard cut to fit the window opening &, just for the heck of it, stood it in the opening overnight...today when I started working on the solar heater again, the back side of the piece of blackboard was warm to the touch....the window next to the one in which I'm working was cold to the touch even though the sun was beaming through it.....as I removed the blackboard (no vents cut in it yet), warm air spilled out, and the front of the blackboard and the window were hot to the touch.

Next, I'm cutting the vents in that blackboard & a giving it new coat of flat black paint....& starting the 2nd piece of blackboard for the window next to this one.

I'm actually having fun with this!
 
Tony - that one is basically the same principle as the one you're building. Looks good, but question the use of that "solid back" heat absorber with the black painted face. It works, but releases heat pretty slowly.

The blower is also over-kill. Natural convection carries the air through the box; you don't need to force it. If there's some impediment to airflow through the box, maybe then the blower helps.

So, I'd modify their system with:

(1), using black aluminum screening instead of that painted backboard, so air passes *through* the absorber instead of just in front of it, and

(2) using the blower only if you're trying to use a thermostat to turn the system on/off.

How's your system coming along?

Tom
 
Am working on the insides of them - installing the blackboard & then covering it with OSB and my interior paneling (4' tin, 2' white pegboard, the rest to the ceiling off-white paneling)......that way, when I go outside to open up a window to build a heater box, my garage is still sealed.

But, even with nothing but the blackboard in place, I can feel warm air flowing out the top opening.
 
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