solar

How to Make a Solar Collector Cheap

Introduction

If you want to heat water by the sun and you don’t want to spend a lot of money doing it, this is the perfect project for you. Most of the materials can be found in your local garbage dump. Building this solar collector will allow you to learn about how the sun heats water. Also, you will be using a renewable energy source to heat the water which is really great for the environment.

Difficulty: Difficult

Things You'll Need:

- The back of a refrigerator

- Wood

- A pane of glass

- Saw

- Half a door mat

- Aluminum Foil

- Pump hose

- Duct tape

- Screws

- Screwdriver

- 2 buckets

- Water

Instructions

Step 1

Find a back from a fridge. Get the Freon (type of coolant) removed. Cut near the coolant holder to remove the grill from the base.

Step 2

Build a frame for the solar collector. The frame is held on by building a similar frame on the back and driving large wood screws through the front frame, the backing and into the back frame. I added some foil to the backing.

Step 3

Seal all cracks and secure the foil into place with duct tape

Next we cut some notches for the entry and return ports to the collector. Note again the use of duct tape to seal cracks.

Step 4

I got some air pump hose from the local fish store and attached them to the end of the entry and return ports.
The duct tape was applied to make sure it was a tight fit, it was later removed as it was not needed.

Step 5

Use the fridge’s mounting brackets and duct tape to attach the collector onto the backing. Tape or screw the pane of glass to the top to trap the heat. Tape is the cheaper but less lasting option.

Step 6

Place the panel on an angle. This will allow more sunlight to catch onto the panel. Place one end of the hose into the bottom of a container of cold water. Take the other end of the hose and suck on it until a little water comes out. Use gravity to flow the cold water into the heater by putting the cold water container higher than the warm water collector.

Tip

You can heat up the water to higher temperatures by reheating the already heated water.

Warning

Be careful not to burn yourself because the water heats to temperatures of about 110 degrees.

Build It Solar: The Renewable Energy site for Do-It-Yourselfers

http://www.builditsolar.com/