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Building an air solar panel

air sourced solar heating panels,recycling
An experiment in green technology

I had this idea over a year ago, just getting around to trying it out now. I am going to build a air source solar panel box using recycled cardboard tubes, a piece of plywood and a clear plastic panel I bought at the store. Follow along, ask questions and provide comments!

2017 Feb 23:

The clear panel with the corrugated shape came in three colors; clear, semi transparent, and dark (like a coffee color). I was going to get the coffee coloured one but since this is an experiment, I am going to start with the cheapest materials.

I cut out a 1/4 inch x 2 x 4 8ft plywood panel for the back of the box. Then I used 3/4 inch thick plywood for the sides, making the sides 1/2 inch deeper than the diameter of the tubes. The only reason for this is so that there is little bit of room to install the plywood parts that will position the tubes.

The ends of the box sides I cut to conform with the corrugated shape of the clear panel. That met with moderate success, next time I should take more time to prepare the pencil lines. Its not too bad a fit, a few gaps. I was intending on using a sealant then seeking the clear panel to the box anyway.

Next is to cut the plywood parts to position the cardboard tubes.

I marked and measured using a compass, it pretty much worked out ok. It will take a bit of extra trimming to get the tubes to fit in all the holes, shouldn’t be too difficult. that’s about all I got done for the 1-1/2 hour before supper.

recycling,ideas,green technology,solar air panels
Building a air source solar panel

2017 Feb 25:

I finished the construction of the passive solar air panel today. Its outside now, simply leaving against the rear of the workshop for now. Waiting for a decent sunny day to see how it performs. I cut a 3 inch diameter hole on the top and boom on the rear panel of the box. So now its to see how well it performs.

passive air source solar panel,diy,homemade
Solar panel box, testing stage

2017 Feb 26:

So the results are in and this DIY test of building a passive air source solar box is a success in my books. I am now planning on building several of these boxes for my workshop.

A Newfoundland born Canadian with a life long interest in woodworking, baking and anything else that peaks my curiosity.

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