Friday, October 9, 2009

Homemade Solar Heater - Save on Your Electricity Bills

Is the electricity bill that you get going out of bounds? You would have discovered that the main reason for this to shoot up is the use of water heaters that use electricity to provide you with hot water. Can you find a way to get over this extra expense of yours? The answer is the use of homemade solar heater. With the depletion in fossil fuels, any form of energy is under high restrain. Depending on renewable resources for energy must be our goal.

Have you ever thought of the way in which our environment is being affected because of the excessive production of energy? It is high time you start giving some thoughts to all these aspects. The best way to reduce the consumption of energy that is derived from non renewable sources is to use renewable resources like solar energy. The heat that is produced using solar energy through homemade solar heater can be the best way that can be implemented to give you hot water supply.

A homemade solar heater consists of a panel of light sensitive cells which absorbs the sun's radiation and converts it to heat. The components used to build the homemade solar heater are easily available in all hardware shops for a minimum cost. So your initial investment is considerable very less. If you opt for a prefabricated one it will cost you about ten times more.

The installation of this homemade solar heater is very simple and can be done if you follow a series of simple steps. You can obtain a general idea about how you can go about this process, as there are several guides and manuals available online. You can invest in one of these manuals and make sure that you get the right professional guidance that you need in setting up one such unit.

Ashish K Arora

How to Build Your Own Pool Solar Heater

Are you interested in heating your pool and you want to do it for a good price? Do you want to extend your swimming season and you want it to be done in a very environmentally safe and friendly way? There is a way to build your own pool solar heaters and they are actually very inexpensive and easy to put together. Here is a plan to put together your solar heater.

First, you are going to need about 150 feet of long black tubing that is about a half inch around to three fourths of an inch around. You will also need about 10 feet of PVC pipe that will fit snugly into the ends of the black tubing. you will need a shut off valve that will be attached to one end of the PVC piping. You will also need a pump that will be strong enough to move water through the tubing at a slow speed.

Second, you are going to need some 2 by 4 pieces of lumber and some metal brackets. You will want to attach the black tubing to the 2 by 4s going back and forth making a coiling pattern. This is the basic part of your heater that is going to get the water hot. You will want to mount this part of your heater on a rooftop that is in direct sunlight, a shed, a barn, a garage, or anywhere else that is in direct sunlight. The hotter this gets the better.

Last, you will run the PVC piping from each end of the black tubing into the pool. The pump with go on one end of your PVC piping and the shut off valve on the other end. When you turn the pump on it will suck water out of your pool at a slow speed and pump it up and through your black tubing, very slowly.

You want this water to be sitting in the black tubing and getting hot. Then, when it comes back into the pool it will start to raise the temperature of your pool. This is now your solar pool heater.

Benjamin Robert Ehinger

Benefits Of A Solar Heater

With all the information we hear on a daily basis about dangerous ultraviolet rays and the threat of skin damage as a result of overexposure to the sun, it’s no wonder that we’re a little wary of this omnipresent star. But, the truth is, we can’t survive without the sun. And in addition to the warmth it provides our planet, it also holds a wealth of energy; energy that we can use to power our life in an efficient and environmentally responsible way.

A solar heater literally harnesses the energy of the sun. The sun’s core holds enormous energy in the form of radiation; the energy that reaches the earth is considered solar energy. Our ability to convert this solar energy into usable, every day energy such as heat and electricity, may one day transform the planet. For now, solar energy continues to be largely experimental among homeowners.

In the case of a solar heater, we literally “collect” the solar energy that makes its way to earth. Flat plate collectors are thin panels that trap, store, and convert solar energy. They are most often placed on the roofs of homes so that their exposure to the sun is consistent. When the sun hits the flat plate collector the solar energy is contained inside and used to heat coils within the collector. These coils heat the surrounding air and the warmed air is pushed through vents to the entire home.

Another style of solar heater is the concentrating collector. A concentrating collector – rather than an immobile unit – moves its panels to follow the sun. Clearly, a design of this type gathers quite a bit more solar energy and is thereby more efficient. Those larger structures that are using solar energy find this type of solar heater far more effective for their purposes.

The greatest benefit of the solar heater – in addition to its enormous environmental impact and efficiency – is the future it promises. A solar heater that heats one home today can mean a future of exclusive solar power; the possibilities are hard to imagine.

Michelle Bery