Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar

[buzneg]

I'm looking for a way to make solar hot water, or CO2, very cheaply. Solar collecting via stallite dish model or trough style need some structure, and have to track the sun. After looking at this link on peswiki http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Charles_Shults%27_Fresnel_Solar_Design and the companies listed on peswiki which use trough solar, often use natural gas or something to further heat the water, because steam or stirling engines are more efficient with a larger temperature difference. By this it seem like it's most economical to use a cheap/simple heat collector to bring the water up to a certain temperature, and then use a high heat concentrator like a lens, or mirror to bring it up the rest of the way. Now maybe a black hose metod is the way to go. Often when I see collectors like this they're under glass, I think this is to insulate the black hose, and cause a greenhouse effect. Just a black hose by itself may lose heat fast from the wind blowing around it, but with a glass cover the air will be held there, and act as an insulator. Right now I'm wondering about 2 black tarps that could melted together every inch or 2 to make the hose, and green house plastic should be pritty cheap to cover it with, with air inbetween ofcourse.

[triffid]

Go to your public library and check out some books on solar water heater designs(free).Ebay has a lot of good info for sale.Aluminum foil reflects 60%of sunlight.White paper reflects a lot of sunlight too.
All kinds of plastic throwaway bags(like potatoe chips) have reflective mylar in them.A green or dark colored garden hose full of water will pick up a lot of heat.Triffid

[TechStuf]

Check out this old codger.....his method actually makes good sense:

http://jc-solarhomes.com/MTD/MTD_solar_heating.htm

Also, if it's within your budget and you live in the northern U.S. check ebay for evacuated solar tubes.  sometimes you can get them cheap and they make the best solution for the money when it comes to heating a northern lattitude home hot water supply, without a doubt.

Peace,


TS

[pese]

I use this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_blanket


also to isolate my rooms , and some more appications

GP

[jeanna]

I suppose it all depends on how much sun you get and how cold it is.

The collection box is very successful.

4' x 8' plywood
2" x 4" 's around the edge to make a 4" depth.
paint the inside black
use a black hose
cover the whole thing in plexiglass or glass.

The water will be so hot it will burn you......

until the sun goes off the collector. Then the water temperature gets cold right away.

The price goes up from here. The above was really cheap, but you must use the water when the sun is on the collector.

If you want the water to stay hot, now, you need to devise a way to circulate the water to an insulated tank and get it to keep circulating and then shut off when the sun goes down.

There are lots of ways for the cost to go up.

But if you live in a sunny area and the temperatures stay no lower than freezing in the winter, you ought to be able to do it for cheap money.

--------

I had a friend in Boston who had a thing that size (4' x 8' x 4") that was an air collector which had an inexpensive fan at the top and which circulated the warm air from top of the collector into the room all the sunny days.

Another hole in the bottom leading into the room brought the room air back into the collector to reheat it.

Even in frigid winter days which were well below freezing, if the sun was on the collector the house would be toasty warm when she got home and the heater had been off all day, [when my heater was on all day just to keep the pipes from freezing.]

Solar is great.

enjoy your project.

jeanna