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Posted by Sherman in Idaho [72.47.9.37] on Monday, December 10, 2012 at 02:57:31 :
In Reply to: Re: Looks like NG, anybody doing solar? posted by Doug In CO [68.177.208.75] on Sunday, December 09, 2012 at 21:51:56 :
Best way to do solar heat is simply windows. I've seen a lot of fancy contraptions that are supposed to collect heat and transport it around with coils of pipe and such, but why attach some sort of "solar collector" to the side of the building when you can just put windows in? The next thing you need is "thermal mass" -- stuff inside the building that will hold the heat. A floor slab poured on top of insulation board is a good start. I know a guy who has a real good shop heated with hydronic coils (plastic tubing zig-zagged around in the slab) which is heated by one of those stand-alone waste oil burners. They'll also burn wood. Around here some sort of heat beyond solar is necessary because the winters are pretty dark.
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