A car radiator makes a sturdy, cheap, solar heater. These simple steps will produce a basic design suitable for use as solar water pre-heater.

What materials and tools will I need?
This basic design requires one car radiator, flushed, pressurized to check for leaks and repaired, if necessary. Two rubber radiator hoses and two hose clamps used to attach the radiator in series with the water supply. Finally, black spray paint completes the list of materials. Tools required include a straight screwdriver and a rubber mallet.

What do I do next?
Use the rubber mallet to tamp all the fins flush with the surface on both sides of the radiator. Tamping all the fins increases heating efficiency, in this application. Next, paint both sides of the radiator thoroughly; use at least two coats of black spray paint.

Where do I put it?
Attach the radiator in series before the water heater. Find a location on the south side of the house in direct sunlight.

Is that all there is to it?
Depending on the climate, a housing built around the unit will increase its efficiency. Make sure to use tempered glass on the top. Tempered glass will endure the heat.

Solar heat panels can be easily and inexpensively made to help reduce the cost of heating your home by using the power of the sun. This project most directly benefits houses with a south facing room as that will be the strongest sunlight available.

Making a solar heat panel can be as simple as modifying old aluminum storm windows to absorb the heat and send it into a room through a vent or through a window. If using a window to bring the warmed air in, you’ll need to ensure that the opening is air tight around the vent. Otherwise the warm air coming in will quickly be replaced by the cold air that is coming in as well.

Using an old aluminum window, a piece of foil backed insulation, and a vent into the room, the window with the foil backed absorbs the heat from the sun and a some fan can draw the warmed air into the room where the vent is placed. Granted, it is a bit more complicated than that, but that is the basic plan. The window catching the rays must be angled to be able to absorb the heat and the vent into the room must be sealed tightly to prevent cold air from also coming in.

With the increase in the interest of having a “green” society, the topic of solar power as a source of heat is a hot one. There are different methods of achieving this, as well as different things to use the solar power on as a heat conductor.

What follows is a synopsis of some of these methods and some insight as to what one might need when interested in using this kind of natural power for heating purposes.

How to Make a Solar Water Heater ?

Depending on the method of solar heating used, here is a list of some things you may need to have when using solar heating of water.

1. One or more 100 feet long black garden hoses
2. One or more 50 feet long black garden hoses
3. Southern exposure. The roof is the preferred place of southern exposure if feasible
4. 30 gallon clean black plastic barrel with spigot
5. Four 4×6 treated posts, eight feet long in length
6. Concrete Mix
7. 3X3 sheet of one inch thick plywood
8. Four 2 by 4′s, 3 feet in length
9. Sixteen carriage bolts with lock washer,washer, and acorn nut
10. A post hole digger
11. Four 4×6′s, three feet in length

Both methods don’t require all of these things, but we will put this together with the following methods so you can see what material you will need for each.

1° Method

The first method of solar hot water heater homemade is as follows:

• Step one: Using large loops, stretch a 100 foot long black garden hose out over the southern side of the roof.
• Step two: Attach on end of the hose to your homes incoming cold water line.
• Step three: Take the other end of the hose and attach it to the cold water intake of your water heater.

Your water will now be warm before it enters your water heater as the heat from the sun will be absorbed by the hose, thus warming the water.

2° Method

• Step one: On the side of the house where you can have the effects of the full sun, build a 3×3 by 6 foot tall platform.

To build the platform:

1. Dig four two feet deep holes, three feet apart from each other in a square.
2. Center a post in each and then fill with concrete. Make sure posts are square and level. Let concrete set for 24 for 48 hours.
3. Attach the 2×4′s flush at the top of the posts. Use two carriage bolts at each end of the 2×4′s.
4. Use 1 1/2 inch wood screws to affix the 3×3 plywood sheet. Space screws about an inch from the edge and use one every six inches.To supply enough support for a full barrel, be sure your plywood is at least one inch in thickness.

• Step two: Screw three foot long pieces of 4×6 posts along the top of the platform using 6 inch screws to ensure they go through the posts, plywood, and 2×4′s. This will create a ledge to prevent the barrel from falling from the platform.
• Step three: Place the empty barrel on the platform with the hose attached to the spigot.
• Step four: Attach the hose to the cold water intake of your water heater and fill the barrel with water.

Keep in mind that the water will take several hours to heat, so using these methods will likely give you enough water for one or two showers per day.

Solar Water Heating for Swimming Pools

A long loop of 2-inch black PVC tubing that is a bypass into your pool’s water pump hose are the basics of a solar heating system for your pool. Many people spend over a thousand dollars to get a heater for their pool, but by putting in a solar system it’s possible you can spend about one fifth of that.

First you need to be sure to get black PVC piping. White reflects sun and black has the opposite effect. Get yourself at least 200 feet of 2 inch black PVC pipe along with the following.

1. a proportionate amount of 2-inch, black PVC elbow fittings
2. some hose clamps
3. PVC glue
4. Primer

Now your ready to know how to use solar power to heat your pool.

1. Find area of the pool that receives the most light.
2. Determine loop and grid. Figure out where to lay the pipe. Keep in mind that the roof of a blacktop garage will run lots of heat.
3. Run a continuous loop of the tubing from the pool to a series of parallel lines, interconnecting PVC tubing throughout the grid loop. Now you have a single loop grid collecting energy from the sun and using it’s energy to heat your pool.

How to Make Your Roof into a Solar Water Heater

1) Tanks – This is essentially a black water tank on the roof. The dark color absorbs the sun’s rays, heating the water. The advantage of using a tank system is that the water held in the tank often has enough weight to allow the heated water to flow into your water heater as well as new, unheated water to flow into the roof tanks without additional pumping.

The obvious disadvantage is that such a heavy system could require reinforcement of the roof against the sheer weight of the system as well as against wind, as the tank enclosure tends to be a high profile construction.

2) Hoses – Using the same principle as the tank system, fresh water is pumped through dark colored hoses arranged in a serpentine pattern on the roof. While eliminating or reducing the weight and wind issues of the tank system, the hose system has its own concerns.

While the tank system utilizes tanks in a protective enclosure, the hoses in a hose system are exposed to the elements and might not last as long as a tank system. The second issue is that without a great deal of water weight being concentrated in any one place, pumping is the only option to cycle fresh water into the system.

The two systems are pretty much the same, it’s just a matter of which works best for you in your specific situation.

Does a Solar Water Heater Panel Have to Face South ?

Answer: This depends on your location.

If you are living in Texas, there’s no point of having the heater panel facing south because it is an area that has mostly heat and sun all year long it’s easy to charge and operate products with a solar power as a generator.
If you are living in an area that does not get a lot of sun but does get sun during noon but in a particular direction it is very important to have your solar water heater panel facing that direction. This is so that you may receive as much sun light as possible and so that you can not only run your machinery but also save power and money.

To answer your question in short it really does depend on your own judgment. You need to find out the best times when the sun will be at it’s peak, for how long, and in which direction in order to successfully operate under solar power.

This is very important to discover before you hook up, spend money, or even purchase anything solar. It does not help to purchase solar power machinery if your going to be in snow all day.

Do It Yourself Solar Water Heater Installation

Having thermal panels added in to the system of your solar water heating can greatly increase it’s production.

Your consumption of fossil fuel will be greatly diminished by using solar energy for electricity as well, and may even disappear altogether. Keep in mind that many energy providers and government agencies have rebate plans for people who install solar power as well. Photovoltaic panels have the potential to decrease your electric bill.

Here’s how you can install your own solar hot water system with thermal panels. After that we will look at installing photovoltaic panels for electricity.

Part 1

Part 2

Figure that you will need approximately a 30 pound capacity of water per person in the household.

1. Figure out how much thermal panel you will need for the roof or where you are putting the system. On the average, figure you will need approximately 20 square feet for two residents. For more people add around 8 square feet each, although you may want to make it up to 14 feet if you live in a particularly cold region.

2. Find out where you want to put the panel. On your roof is usually the best place as you can secure mountings to the rafters and may be convenient to run pipe to your hot water heater.

3. Measure out where the mountings will be. Make sure you line them up with the thermal panel to be sure they match.

4. Using a power drill, install the mounting with screws and brackets.

5. Use sealant, such as caulk, to seal up any holes.

6. Install rails onto mounts. Be sure they are fixed in place.

7. Install thermal panel on rails insuring they are secure enough to withstand rain or poor weather.

8. For the panel connection to the water pipe, you will have to install a roof boot. Do not place the boot over any rafters. The boot should be about 2 inches from the feed connection on your solar panel.

9. Use flashing, and caulk if needed, to make the boot’s connection to the hole surrounding it watertight.

10. Install roof boot number two about 2 inches from the absorber outlet of solar power.

11. Attach compression unions to roof boot and use copper tubing to connect compression unions to feeds on the solar panel. Be sure to check that all connections will not leak.

12. Run copper tubing from both feeds to the water heater.

13. Turn off gas and drain all water from the water heater, then install coaxial fitting onto water heater.

14. Making sure the connections are correct, which should be the feed line taking cool water out to the water panel and the return line being hot water in, connect the copper tubes to the fitting.

15. Even if sealant or Teflon tape is needed, you need to make sure that there are no leaky connections.

16. Refill heater with water and flip the gas back on.

There you go. That’s how you can install thermal panels and your solar water heater. Hope this can help with some of your questions about how to install panels for your solar water heating. Photovoltaic panels are important if you want to save on electricity . This should not be forgotten if you want to build your own solar energy system. To install photovoltaic panels follow these steps.

1. Pick out your photovoltaic panels and appropriate panel mounts and tools for installation.
2. Use a stud finder to find the rafters and align mounts. Pre-drill with pilot bit to avoid splitting and make sure to keep mounts in a straight line using laser sight or chalk line.
3. Use stainless steel lag bolts to attach mounts to the roof.
4. Place metal flashings over the mounts and use 3/8′ stainless steel bolts to secure metal rails to the posts.
5. Install solar panels and connect them into an array.
6. Run the conduit to connect the panels to the inverter.

Now your photovoltaic panels are installed and your solar electric system is ready to go. Keep in mind that if you are interested in using this type of energy and are considering getting your roof redone, that would be the best time to have the system installed.

Having them “flashed-in” during the roofing process is a good way to assure there are no leaks. Also, having structural attachment points “flashed-in” is a good idea for installing solar panels as re-installation or future cost of removal will not be a worry for many years to come.

Is it possible to heat an individual room or your home without having to purchase expensive batteries for your solar system? The answer is yes. There are many options that allow for individual solar heaters to be used and installed on your home without needing the batteries. Although, if one desires to heat around the clock, when the sun is not shining, it is strongly suggested to acquire the regulators and batteries for the system.

Solar heat is ideal for providing hot air and liquids. It is also a viable option to run appliances and particularly heaters as long as they do not have an electric heating element in them. If you have a specific heater that was built to be used with solar power, solar energy is obviously your first choice to run it. Other heaters that are run with hot liquids or forced air are also ideal options for the use of solar power.

Solar power will aid to lessen heating and cooling costs. The only downside to not having the regulators and the batteries for a solar run heating system, is the availability of the sun. Otherwise, solar is the optimum option is alleviating yearly heating costs.

For individuals and families trying to go green, a solar water heater is an excellent investment. It helps you save on electricity or gas, depending on what type of water heater you have, and it is eligible for a number of tax rebates and credits so you end up saving that money for cheaper or even for free.

As one of the largest energy consumers in your home, a conventional hot water tank is pretty wasteful. A hot water tank has to heat up all the water in the tank just to use a fraction of it, and then when the water gets cold, it has to expend the energy to heat it all up again. By harnessing the sun’s energy, you don’t need to see high electricity or gas bills again. According to Energy Star, a solar water heater can cut your water heating costs in half or even more.

Using solar power to heat your water is cost-effective, energy efficient, and, after an initial investment, free. The technology for solar hot water heating has been around for more than fifty years, and in some parts of the world – notably Israel – solar hot water heaters are quite common. Below, you’ll find a closer look at how solar hot water heating works, what types of set-ups are available, and pros and cons.

Technical Details
The two basic components of a solar hot water heater are the storage tank and the solar collector. The tank itself, like other hot water heaters, should be well-insulated, with an outlet and inlet that feeds into the solar collector. Some solar hot water heaters are two-tank set-ups, with a tank that pre-heats water, then feeds it into a regular water heater.

Additionally, you can opt for a passive solar water heating system, or an active solar water heating system. The active type includes controls and circulating pumps, whereas the passive system does not. In a passive system, you literally use the sun itself to heat the water directly, without relying upon a solar panel.

As for the process of heating up the water, you can choose from an open loop system, which is ideal for mild climates where the temperature does not dip below freezing, or a closed loop system if you live in a colder area. Your climate will also determine what kind of solar collector you choose.

Installation and Maintenance
Installation and maintenance of a solar hot water heating system is not simple. Once you’ve decided which system will work for you, you’ll want to look into building code requirements, safety issues, and other factors.

A passive solar system is not hard to maintain. An active system, however, is more complex and has additional plumbing and other factors that need to be regularly maintained. You’ll also need to make sure that your system will last by protecting it against the elements.

Pros and Cons of Solar Hot Water Heating
A solar hot water heating system will cost you between $3 and $6 thousand, but that cost will be repaid in energy savings within the first five years. In most cases, as long as you maintain your system, you can expect it to last for around 25 to 30 years. If you can imagine removing the cost of heating your water from your water bill for twenty or twenty-five years, you will start to get the picture of how much a solar water heater will save you.

Of course, if you’re not sure that you’ll stay in your home for at least six years, a solar water heating system may not be worth the cost. Nevertheless, this disadvantage and the disadvantage of potential maintenance headaches are the only real cons to a solar hot water heating system.

How Much Does a Solar Hot Water Heater Cost?

Depending on whether you’re seeking professional installation or you want to do it yourself, and depending on the size and scope of your hot water heating needs, it could cost as little as a few hundred dollars and as much as $4000-5000. Additionally, it is more expensive to install a solar hot water heater if you are retrofitting an existing home, because you need to connect it to already-existing electrical and plumbing systems.

Furthermore, some states require you to hire a professional to install your water heater, which will substantially increase your costs. Certain roofs can be difficult to build on, and depending on where you live, you may have certain building code requirements that require you to spend more money.

Ultimately, the cost of a solar hot water heater is measured in the amount of time it takes to pay back your investment. The money you save by installing a hot water heater typically varies from four years to ten years, meaning that it is best purchases if you plan on staying at your current location for awhile longer. A solar hot water heater is an investment that pays for a significant portion of your utility bills each month for as long as you have it installed.

How Do I Get Solar Hot Water Rebates and Tax Credits?

Tax credits can significantly decrease the cost of your solar hot water heater, helping you pay back your investment more quickly. Rebates tend to be given on a state-by-state basis, so the best way to get a solar hot water heater rebate is to visit your local energy company’s website and click on their “Environment” or “Green” menu item. While not all energy providers offer rebates, many do, as solar hot water heaters help to decrease their load. They also get tax incentives from the government to provide those rebates.

A rebate typically consists of 30-50% of a particular project. To be eligible for a rebate, you generally, but not always, must:

* Receive your energy from that company
* Have a SRCC-rated solar water heating system (Solar Rating and Certification Corporation)
* Use the services of an eligible contractor in that county or state

Additionally, if you install a solar hot water heater, you are also eligible for a federal tax credit. Known as the residential renewable energy tax credit, you can save 30% of qualified expenditures to install the hot water heater. Qualified expenditures include labor costs, system costs and cost of the materials used to install it. The tax credit stacks differently with different rebates, so you should consult with a certified accountant before claiming the federal credit for your solar water heater installation costs.

Further Reading:

• DIY Solar Hot Water Heating

Solar hot air collectors (AKA solar heating systems for homes that use passive solar heating) can directly heat individual rooms or can potentially pre-heat the air passing into a heat recovery ventilator or through the air coil of an air-source heat pump. Air collectors produce heat earlier and later in the day than liquid systems, so they may produce more usable energy over a heating season than a liquid system of the same size.

Also, unlike liquid systems, air systems do not freeze, and minor leaks in the collector or distribution ducts will not cause significant problems, although they will degrade performance. However, air is a less efficient heat transfer medium than liquid, so solar air heater collectors operate at lower efficiencies than solar liquid collectors. Solar air collectors are often integrated into walls or roofs to hide their appearance.

Room Air Heaters

Air collectors can be installed on a roof or an exterior (south facing) wall for heating one or more rooms. Although factory-built collectors for on-site installation are available, do-it-yourselfers may choose to build and install their own air collector. A simple window air heater collector can be made for a few hundred dollars.


The collector has an airtight and insulated metal frame and a black metal plate for absorbing heat with glazing in front of it. Solar radiation heats the plate that, in turn, heats the air in the collector. An electrically powered fan or blower pulls air from the room through the collector, and blows it back into the room.

Roof-mounted collectors require ducts to carry air between the room and the collector. Wall-mounted collectors are placed directly on a south-facing wall, and holes are cut through the wall for the collector air inlet and outlets.

Simple “window box collectors” fit in an existing window opening. They can be active (using a fan) or passive. In passive types, air enters the bottom of the collector, rises as it is heated, and enters the room.

A baffle or damper keeps the room air from flowing back into the panel (reverse thermosiphoning) when the sun is not shining. These systems only provide a small amount of heat, since the collector area is relatively small.

Transpired Air Collectors

Transpired air collectors use a simple technology to capture the sun’s heat to warm buildings: The collectors consist of dark, perforated metal plates installed over a building’s south-facing wall. An air space is created between the old wall and the new facade.
The dark outer facade absorbs solar energy and rapidly heats up on sunny days—even when the outside air is cold.

A fan or blower draws ventilation air into the building through tiny holes in the collectors and up through the air space between the collectors and the south wall. The solar energy absorbed by the collectors warms the air flowing through them by as much as 40°F. Unlike other space heating technologies, transpired air collectors require no expensive glazing.

Transpired air collectors are most suitable for large buildings with high ventilation loads, a fact which makes them generally unsuitable for today’s tightly sealed homes. However, small transpired air collectors could be used to pre-heat the air passing into a heat recovery ventilator or could warm the air coil on an air source heat pump, improving its efficiency and comfort level on cold days. However, no information is currently available on the cost effectiveness of using a transpired air collector in this way.

DIY: Building a Solar Space Heater

This type of solar space heater works by drawing the air to be heated into the bottom can of a column of cans. The air is then heated inside the cans by the sun’s energy and the hot air within them rises upwards (thanks to convection) to be fed into a pipe which re-enters the building to be heated.

1° Building the Box – First of all make a box out of whatever scrap materials you have to hand. Set the dimensions to that the width of the interior of the box is exactly the same as the width of however many columns of cans you would like to use in your heater.

For increased efficiency, you may choose to insulate the box to prevent heat escaping (by conduction) through the plywood. If so, size your box so that the cans and insulation will fit snuggly.

2° Drilling the Cans – For the air to pass through a column of cans, holes must be drilled into them. Remember that there is already a hole at the top of each can out of which the drink is poured. That just leaves holes at the bottom of each can to be drilled.

In the bottom can of each column a 1/2 to 1 inch hole is drilled in the side. (see image below) – Drill a hole in the side of the bottom can of each column – The rest of the cans in the column have a similiarly sized hole drilled into the bottom. See image below)

3° Building the Can Columns and Painting – Then the cans of each column are glued together using caulk or silicon adhesive and painted using black paint to help them absorb the sun’s energy. Barbecue or fireplace/stove paint is excellent for this as it will not flake off, but any marine grade paint will do a similar job – just make sure it has a totally matt finish.

The inside of the box must also be painted with the same paint before the columns of cans are glued into position using caulk or silicon adhesive. The outside of the box should be treated with preservative, varnish, or paint to help it survive the elements for many years.

4° Sealing the Solar Heating Box – Ideally the whole unit will be sealed with a sheet of tempered glass – of the type used in car windscreens. This glass is very strong and resilient to heat. However, tempered glass (unless you can find and recycle a sheet) is also very expensive. Therefore plexi-glass (plastic) can be used, but it will degrade far more quickly and become opaque blocking out the sunlight.

A hole at the top of the box acts as the hot air outlet and can be connected to the building/room to be heated using an insulated pipe.

5° A PV Electric Solar Panel could be used to power a small fan (such as that used to cool the processor in a computer) to drive air through the snake. The final temperature achieved would be lower, but having a large quantity of 30 degree Celcius air entering a room is much better than a much smaller quantity of 50 degree Celcius air.

Photo Source:
http://sustainabledesignupdate.com
http://www.reuk.co.uk