LobsterPond
08-26-2008, 04:24 AM
I read the Free Home Cooling and we do that and the fan runs via a small solar panel. Basic system of flex tubing running around the basement & root cellar floor (no air exchange - just temperature exchange). It works nicely when it's needed- when the the sun is shining.
LIKEWISE: we have a black southern facing roof and hook up the system to siphon off the heat. Again, flex tubing running near the hottest south surface inside the roof to exchange the room temp with the hot roof temp. This is connected to the same solar powered fan to run opposites times of the year. It adds heat during Spring & Fall but not the coldest part of winter . . be sure to turn it OFF or it might blow cold air . . .at least that's what I found here in Minnesota. But that part of our solar heating cuts back 50% of our heating time or about 30% of our heating BTUs.
Our other heating:
We also have several south facing patio doors which add bounce solar heat once the snow gets down. That makes the house toasty regardless of -30 degrees outside.
We use only electric blankets at night - we don't heat our whole house all night.
Wood stoves for really cold winter times and when company comes over.
Some other tips I found:
from NoMowGrass.com - she layers plastic over windows like window film with rubbing alcohol so it does not freeze. Each layer reduces night heat loss by around 15% - no need to replace all the windows!
from mybackachers.com - they use bouncing light to take advantage of winter solar and add 3 - 4 times the amount of solar gain . . kinda like turning the house into a solar oven!
We did (of course) do a massive job of insulating and we add weather stripping every year (we find more cracks to fill every year). But alas, we still will need to add more insulation wherever we can stuff it in.
S
LIKEWISE: we have a black southern facing roof and hook up the system to siphon off the heat. Again, flex tubing running near the hottest south surface inside the roof to exchange the room temp with the hot roof temp. This is connected to the same solar powered fan to run opposites times of the year. It adds heat during Spring & Fall but not the coldest part of winter . . be sure to turn it OFF or it might blow cold air . . .at least that's what I found here in Minnesota. But that part of our solar heating cuts back 50% of our heating time or about 30% of our heating BTUs.
Our other heating:
We also have several south facing patio doors which add bounce solar heat once the snow gets down. That makes the house toasty regardless of -30 degrees outside.
We use only electric blankets at night - we don't heat our whole house all night.
Wood stoves for really cold winter times and when company comes over.
Some other tips I found:
from NoMowGrass.com - she layers plastic over windows like window film with rubbing alcohol so it does not freeze. Each layer reduces night heat loss by around 15% - no need to replace all the windows!
from mybackachers.com - they use bouncing light to take advantage of winter solar and add 3 - 4 times the amount of solar gain . . kinda like turning the house into a solar oven!
We did (of course) do a massive job of insulating and we add weather stripping every year (we find more cracks to fill every year). But alas, we still will need to add more insulation wherever we can stuff it in.
S