Comments on: how to make solar panels or windmills at home cheap? http://www.solarandwind4me.com/solar-panels-for-homes/how-to-make-solar-panels-or-windmills-at-home-cheap My adventures generating my own electricity with solar and wind power. Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:03:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Charlotte's mom http://www.solarandwind4me.com/solar-panels-for-homes/how-to-make-solar-panels-or-windmills-at-home-cheap#comment-842 Charlotte's mom Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:50:59 +0000 http://www.solarandwind4me.com/solar-panels-for-homes/how-to-make-solar-panels-or-windmills-at-home-cheap#comment-842 My dad made a solar heater the following way, maybe you can modify it for your needs? You will need foam insulation, 2 junk glass patio doors, about three cases worth of empty soda cans, black spraypaint, epoxy, caulk, dryer hose, plywood the size of the patio doors, and a thermostat-controlled fan. Cut a hole in the plywood the same diameter as the dryer hose. Spray one side of the plywood black. Cut tops off soda cans, epoxy to plywood. The cans should touch at the sides and completely cover the wood. Spray all cans black. Cut insulation to make "sides" of a box, a little taller than the soda cans on all four sides of the plywood. Seal patio doors to the insulation "sides" after installing thermostat on the patio doors. Run dryer hose inside. Make sure you put this in direct sunlight. The way it works is that the sunlight heats up the sprayed metal through the glass. As soon as it gets as hot as you've set the thermostat, the fan kicks on and blows hot air into the house until it cools off again. I know it sounds sort of MacGuyver crazy, but it kept my basement bedroom warm when I was a teenager. Good luck!<br><b>References : </b><br>Crazy hippie dad. My dad made a solar heater the following way, maybe you can modify it for your needs?

You will need foam insulation, 2 junk glass patio doors, about three cases worth of empty soda cans, black spraypaint, epoxy, caulk, dryer hose, plywood the size of the patio doors, and a thermostat-controlled fan.

Cut a hole in the plywood the same diameter as the dryer hose. Spray one side of the plywood black. Cut tops off soda cans, epoxy to plywood. The cans should touch at the sides and completely cover the wood. Spray all cans black. Cut insulation to make "sides" of a box, a little taller than the soda cans on all four sides of the plywood. Seal patio doors to the insulation "sides" after installing thermostat on the patio doors. Run dryer hose inside.

Make sure you put this in direct sunlight. The way it works is that the sunlight heats up the sprayed metal through the glass. As soon as it gets as hot as you’ve set the thermostat, the fan kicks on and blows hot air into the house until it cools off again. I know it sounds sort of MacGuyver crazy, but it kept my basement bedroom warm when I was a teenager. Good luck!
References :
Crazy hippie dad.

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