EcoDIY Solar Gain

Solar Gain (work in progress)

Front elevation of the house showing the veranda which we plan to glass in to provide a source of solar gain for hot air to blow into the colder rooms.

Veranda

starting the work on the veranda with loglap.

I have started work on the front solar gain using second hand toughened glass and scrounged plywood. After months of research and discussion I am making the frames from redwood (good quality softwood) and having the timber low pressure treated (not a coloured treatment) to resist rot and insect attack and using Osmo transparent clear wood wax finish with an Osmo Aqua base coat - I will report on how well it weathers as time passes, at the moment the pine is becoming a lot yellower with passing time. I can report that I am not impressed with the durability of the Osmo outdoors but we like it indoors. The glazing is single glazed as the veranda is not part of the insulated living space and will be used for growing plants and passing hot air into the house - this simplifies the planning process.

Shelf made out of recycled wood (from heavy duty pallets for steel sheet) glued together.

1. Lean to greenhouse on the southwest side of the house to give us solar gain - hot air through the living room windows and plant growing space. Made from all recycled materials - concrete blocks recycled from a demolition, recycled polycarbonate roofing sheets and a greenhouse from freecycle.

We are trying a rock filled heat store under the floor to store excess greenhouse heat. You can also see the built in channel for a planting bed. Heat storage channel with the (recycled) insulation in place.

heat store rocks in place.

The experimental heat store under the floor. I am pumping the hot air on hot days from the top of the greenhouse through a pile of rocks under the floor using a 12volt extractor fan. The heat is allowed to seep back in the evenings. On hot days the rocks gain 10 degrees C by the end of the day and the night time temperature of the green house goes up by as much as 5 degrees.