Its getting colder out soon. I was wondering what is out there for ideas such as foil of some sort, in a box shape or something maybe, to amplify the suns heat that shines thru a south facing glass patio door in a house. Creating some sort of hot box. Its amazing how warm the floor gets where the sun shines through. "solar-thermal"?

Might not be a good idea...



...but maybe if it heated water or somethin'?
or solar panel(s) + fan(s) to blow the heat?

[This message has been edited by TheDigitalAlchemist (edited 09-18-2012).]

You can't amplify it but you can concentrate it. There are Fresnel lens for windows that do that but you have to be careful since the glass will absorb some of the energy and heat way up. Way - up.

After that, yep, you have an ant burner. Do a search for "telescope deck fire."

quote Originally posted by TK: You can't amplify it but you can concentrate it. There are Fresnel lens for windows that do that but you have to be careful since the glass will absorb some of the energy and heat way up. Way - up. After that, yep, you have an ant burner. Do a search for "telescope deck fire."

Concentrate, better word

I mean like a foil box of sorts, protected of course, like a stand alone wood burner would be.

And, if your windows are double pane, they create other problems when using 'magnifying' type panes. The air in between the panes heats up--even tho with good double panes there is 'supposed' to be very little air in there.

My home has double pane all around, and I have found another problem with them. The upper story windows reflect and concentrate the sun's rays enough on their own--especially the west and east windows. On the east side, it's not a real problem inside, since that is the side with the upper bedroom. The floor is realtively close to the window height, so I suppose ya never notice any difference, but since the front 1/2 of the house is all open cathedral cieling, when the west sun comes thru, you do not want to be sleeping on the couch or in my recliner. It gets HOT--not fire hot, but you dang sure know it's there. On the outside on the East side, there is also a reflected heat that will almost burn you around 9-10 am every morning if you stand in it's path for very long. It is intense enough, that I have assigned blame for very little grass growing in those 2 areas to that reflected heat. I have 3 upper windows on that side and there are 3 corresponding areas in the yard that just won't grow much grass and they are the first areas to turn all brown when the summer heat arrives.

Something to think about...

Many people up here do entire south facing walls in windows, double pained and triple pained for that very reason. See light goes through the windows into the house. Keeping the cold air outside and just allowing the light to warm whatever is in the lights path.

Some people use water just behind the glass to be heated and heat that and circulate that for heat in other rooms. There are many ways to reuse the heat of the sun that was just one that came to mind.

Do a Google search for “heat from the sun to heat your home.”

http://www.faryal.net/energ...s-home_orth_5-4.html

The simple act of opening the drapes in the daytime and closing them at night helps heat your home.

Steve


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Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 09-18-2012).]

quote Originally posted by 84fiero123: Many people up here do entire south facing walls in windows, double pained and triple pained for that very reason. See light goes through the windows into the house. Keeping the cold air outside and just allowing the light to warm whatever is in the lights path. Some people use water just behind the glass to be heated and heat that and circulate that for heat in other rooms. There are many ways to reuse the heat of the sun that was just one that came to mind. Do a Google search for “heat from the sun to heat your home.” http://www.faryal.net/energ...s-home_orth_5-4.html The simple act of opening the drapes in the daytime and closing them at night helps heat your home. Steve

Many old houses (built before mechanical AC was common) had large eaves to keep the summer sun out and let the winter sun in. Now houses are constructed with very small eaves.

Any concentrater would have to be on the outside. There are absorbers though. Look up "Trombe wall". I've also seen vertical tubes of water used. They just absorb the heat and then radiate it to the house after the sun is not hitting them.

Good ideas flowing here.

I'm thinking like those solar cookers....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_grill
?

Go to google/youtube and type in soda can heater.
It works but there is some work involved.

You just make a frame, get some cans, paint them black, cut the tops and bottoms, silicone them together, then make a spot for the heat to come out and into the house.

quote Originally posted by TK: You can't amplify it but you can concentrate it. There are Fresnel lens for windows that do that but you have to be careful since the glass will absorb some of the energy and heat way up. Way - up. After that, yep, you have an ant burner. Do a search for "telescope deck fire."

Fresnels are fun.. You can melt steel with them on a good day with a large one.

Solar water heater + radiant floor heating system

You dont need to do anything. Just leave blinds and curtains open in the direction the sun shines in so sun can shine in unrestricted. Thats what I do every winter and it makes a surprising difference. In the summer, I keep them all closed and I rarely need to turn on A/C, even on 90* days. I know people that have lots of big windows facing south, and they hardly ever use any heat in the daytime all winter unless its cloudy.

quote Originally posted by ryan.hess: Solar water heater + radiant floor heating system

That would be what a professional would do for an active system. If at all possible, passive systems will be more cost effective. I only installed one active system in my solar career. Some passive systems can be retrofitted, but they work best and are more cost effective if they are part of the original design. Opening and closing windows and doors at the appropriate times and shading windows when it's hot or clearing them to the sun when you need heat is a good manual system. Ryan knows what he is talking about. There are lot's of hippy ideas that will work to some extent, but most of them will look like a hippy system. The main problem with an active system in my opinion is cost, maintenance, and the fact that when you need the solar heat the most is when you have it the least. I did know of one system that overcame that problem by heating a swimming pool size storage tank in the summer under his house and then using that stored heat in the winter. I went through a hippy stage. I still espouse some of their values and lifestyles, but that's typical of me. I borrow from everywhere.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: You dont need to do anything. Just leave blinds and curtains open in the direction the sun shines in so sun can shine in unrestricted. Thats what I do every winter and it makes a surprising difference. In the summer, I keep them all closed and I rarely need to turn on A/C, even on 90* days. I know people that have lots of big windows facing south, and they hardly ever use any heat in the daytime all winter unless its cloudy.

Yep I do that. Was thinking better than just that.

In the summer when I get home from somewhere I keep my cars outside til the engine cools and bring in later too.

[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 09-19-2012).]

I read a walkthrough once where a guy took the windows from a sliding glass door, and built a box around them just large enough for soda/beer cans, and insulation.

He then placed a hole at the top, and a hole at the bottom. Drilled holes in the cans, and stacked them up inside, ran a pipe from the house to each hole with a small computer fan running air from the system.

He was claiming high temperature gains of the air going into the house, enough to melt the original pink insulation he used in the box.

A quick google search finds this.

http://blog.hemmings.com/in...drink-a-lot-of-soda/

It looks like the same guy, certainly a lot of the same pictures, but my internet is crap right now, so perhaps later I can find more, or someone can help out.

Brad

I know it would be a lot of extra work, but you could position mirrors outside to reflect more light through the windows. Adjusting them every so often would get tedious.

Big skylights help too, plus you get tons of natural light all day.