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The Solar Shed -- Using Solar
Collectors Mounted on an Outbuilding for House Heating
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NEW!
Our Solar Shed Project in Mother Earth News The Dec 2007 Mother Earth News has a full article on the Solar Shed solar heating system.
The article features some great new illustrations and diagrams, and includes full how-to build information.
The article is currently
available at the Mother Earth News Website, and the print copy is "on the
newsstands".
The several pages of information below contain quite a lot of additional material that will be helpful if you are building this collector or heat storage tank.
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The 240 square feet of south facing collectors on the new garden shed. The shed measures 24 ft wide by 12 ft deep. A 500 gallon thermal storage tank is positioned just behind the collectors inside the shed. The pipes that carry heat to the house are in a trench that takes off toward the house, which is 100 ft to the left.
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Project Directory:
Updated: 1/15/07 -- Added the "Heat Distribution to House" and "Performance" sections, and a few new comments at the end of the "Shed and Collector", "The Trench", and the "Storage Tank" sections.
Finished the first few radiant floor loops for the house, and started using heat from the system on 1/12/07.
Instead of installing solar collectors on the south roof of the house, the collectors are installed on a new garden shed that was designed for them. The new shed thus provides the following functions: 1) holds garden equipment, 2) provides a good space for solar collectors (pointed in the right direction for good collection), and 3) provides space for a large water tank to store heat. Heated water from the storage tank in the garden shed is circulated to the house as needed for space heating.
I should mention that we live in SW Montana at 46 degrees north latitude. Winters are chilly -- 8000 degree-days and down to -30F once in a great while -- with typical mid-winter highs in the 30F's. But, a fair number of sunny days that are a pleasant indeed.
South of shed wall with integrated solar water heating collectors being built.
The assembled absorber plates were purchased, and the collector
housing and glazing were site built, and integrated with the wall.
The combination Garden Shed and Solar Collector System. The South wall/roof slopes at 70 degrees, and has
six 4ft by 10ft solar thermal collectors.
The collectors are integrated with the south face of the shed -- the shed and the collectors share elements such that each benefits from the other. For example, the collector glazing eliminates the need for siding and roofing on the south side of the shed, and the collector support structure is one in the same with the south wall of the shed.
These are my initial thoughts on the pluses and minus of this type of system (feedback welcome):
Pro
Locating the solar collectors on a new outbuilding allows you the freedom to get the orientation, location and tilt of the collectors right for efficient collection (in contrast to trying to find a place on the house that has the space and orientation to work).
The scheme could be used in a wide variety of retrofit situations without having to deal with the peculiarities of each individual house. Basically it offers a simple, plug-in, modular solution to provide supplemental solar heating to any house that has a sunny spot in the yard. Might also be less likely to run afoul of Home Owner Association rules.
You get the combined functionality of a storage shed (or playhouse, studio, shop,...) and solar collection all in one package.
The shed and the collectors can share structural elements, which has the effect of saving materials and money on both.
The collector area is limited only by the size of your yard and the size of your wallet, not by how much space you can find to mount collectors on the house.
The collectors are located on the ground where they are easier to build and maintain, thus reducing the number of trips to the Emergency Room.
During the winter, you get a beneficial reflection from the snow on the ground to the south of the collectors which provides a "free" increase in collected solar energy. Perhaps a 15% bonus?
You don't have to figure out a place to put a large heat storage tank in the house.
The system is very simple -- no heat exchangers, antifreeze, expansion tanks, air purge valves, ...
The storage tank can be of any size, and is not constrained by having to fit in the house space, or through the crawl space access hatch, and does not take up space in the house.
The storage tank is cheap -- it is
essentially an insulated plywood box lined with insulation and an EPDM
membrane (but it does have to be built carefully).
A simple scheme can be used to prevent the collectors from overheating during summer.
You can build that outdoor shop (studio, ...) you have always wanted, and tell your spouse its all about lowering your heat bill with good clean solar energy.
Con
You have to provide a well
insulated "pipeline" from the shed collectors to the house. This is some
work to construct, a source of some expense and heat loss.
Takes up space in your yard (on the
other hand, it leaves you less to mow).
The storage tank must be well insulated, since it lives in a cold environment, and losses from the tank don't help to heat the house as they would if the tank were inside the heated area. This is not technically difficult, it just costs more for the insulation.
Use the links in the Directory above to see more detail on the various components.
Gary Updated 10/25/06
