3/23/08

How To Build Your Own Solar Box Furnace


If you love the planet, hate wasting money and are comfortable with a tool belt, then you might just be able to cobble together your very own solar powered room heater.

Here is a great gadget to beat the bitter cold. And the good news is, unlike in ordinary heaters, natural gas and heating oils don’t burn deep holes in your pockets when you use the Self Powered Solar Box Furnace. Made out of odds and ends, this tool can not only heat up a small room or a detached shed, but is wonderfully easy on the environment as you must have guessed it from the name it is solar-powered, and doesn’t use any electrical controls.

Let’s not make the mistake of underestimating the capabilities of the Self Powered Solar Box Furnace. It can turn a fairly large space comfortably warm on a cold, sunny day. It is possible to scale this project up to any size. A larger version of this furnace could be used to provide central heating to an entire house.

Now we take a look at the mechanism of the device. It sounds fairly simple and is based on simple scientific rules. When sunrays fall on the black metal collector plate, the latter absorbs the rays and converts them to heat. Sun shining on the solar panel array powers the fan attached to the device, which pushes cold air into the bottom of the box. The cold air warms up as it passes over the collector plate, then the warmed air exits from the top of the box.

What is really convenient about this is that you can customize it according to your needs and preferences. You have a wide range of choices when it comes to deciding the dimensions of the box and the materials to be used in the construction of it. The differential temperature controller ensures that you regulate the device according to your requirements and weather conditions.

Now comes the most interesting part. You can actually make it yourself! Solorb.com offers you a thorough, step-by-step guide to making your very own personal Solar Powered Room Heater .

The architect of the heater even says that "it is possible to scale this project up to any size. A larger version of this furnace could be used to add a lot of supplemental heat a house."

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