Do It Yourself Solar Furnace for Home Heating

Posted on February 15, 2014  Comments (7)

Man builds $300 solar furnace, decreases heating bill

“I think it’s something that everyone should have affixed right to [their] house. I think it should be part of your design,” said Buchanan. “It would be very easy to do. [With a] south-facing house like mine, it’s perfect.

“Just mount it on the side. If you touch the side of the house, even at —20 C, it’s still hot. We should be gathering that heat and driving it inside as quickly as possible.”

It is great to see do it yourself solutions that easily tap the energy provided by the sun to heat your house.

I had a friend that had a south facing greenhouse (attached to her house) that had 2 huge water tanks. They would heat up in the sun and give off heat all night (the stone floor would do the same thing).

Related: Brian’s Pop Can Solar HeaterSolar DIY Space Heating ProjectsHow to Build a Soda Can HeaterPay as You Go Solar in IndiaSoda-can furnaces powered by solar energy heat Denver neighborhoodGreen Building with Tire BalesCost Efficient Solar Dish by Students (2008)


7 Responses to “Do It Yourself Solar Furnace for Home Heating”

  1. Steven J Fromm
    February 19th, 2014 @ 9:44 am

    Wow, very impressive. But I doubt that I could install this baby on my own.

  2. James
    February 27th, 2014 @ 3:44 am

    Wow, clever stuff. Could definitely see the benefits specially in poorer countries.

  3. Phil Luther
    March 17th, 2014 @ 5:48 am

    Thanks for the information. I have personally been looking at different types of solar heating options to build myself at home and document the entire process. Tired of paying so much money to heat the home in the winter!

  4. Kevin Burke
    March 26th, 2014 @ 11:19 am

    Wow, some of the greatest ideas are also the simplest. I hope Mr Buchanan’s ideas are considered in future building developments.

  5. Coleman
    March 28th, 2014 @ 7:35 am

    Impressive! Great to see people taking initiative to differentiate their energy use – long live innovation!

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    September 9th, 2014 @ 4:08 am

    This is a speculative project. It is interesting to see the various alternatives to reducing our use of un-renewable energy and using design to create livable spaces…

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