DIY Passive Solar Project Heats Home During a Montana Winter

The installation is estimated to be saving somewhere between 300 and 450 dollar per year in energy costs.

DIY Passive Solar Project ( Solar Thermal Magazine)

There are many types of heating systems for your home including natural gas, oil, propane and electric. All of these off course are derived from fossil fuels and contribute to CO2 emissions as well as cost the homeowner hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in energy costs. Even the electricity depending on where you live is likely to be coming from a fossil fuel source.

The other thing that all of the fossil fuel based heating systems have in common is that you need to use electricity to run them for things like blowers or pumps. There is another choice for heating or offsetting your homes heating requirements that uses neither fossil fuels or requires electricity to run. It is called passive solar heating.

With passive solar heating the suns rays cause the warmed air to rise with what as known as convection and properly directed this warm airflow can nicely heat your home on the coldest of winter days.

This video, taken at a home in Bozeman, Montana shows the construction and installation of a passive solar air heater that is completed in just a few hours using common materials costing about $300. The installation is estimated to be saving somewhere between 300 and 450 dollar per year in energy costs.

Great payback right?

About Gordon Smith
Gordon’s expertise in the area of industrial energy efficiency and alternative energy. He is an experienced electrical engineer with a Masters degree in Alternative Energy technology. He is the co-founder of several renewable energy media sites including Solar Thermal Magazine.