subject: Make Your Own Solar Hot Water Heater [print this page] Make Your Own Solar Hot Water Heater Make Your Own Solar Hot Water Heater
Are you into DIY? Are you into saving money? Are you into helping the environment? Then maybe you may be interested to know that you can tick all the above boxes by making your own Water Heater by using one of the elements - the Sun. The sun is our best form of energy. It is free and it is there all the time, although on cloudy and rainy days we may not see it. Man has used the sun's energy since time began to help grow crops and keep warm but had no way of capturing it. In the present day however, it is becoming increasingly popular to harness the power of the sun and use it to our advantage. Many home-owners now are installing solar panels on the roof of their houses so that they can use the sun's energy to heat their homes and provide electricity. One of the best uses of solar energy or energy from the sun is to heat water. A solar hot water heater is useful not just for domestic water, but also for offices and companies, and also the industrial world. Through these means you can also generate energy, thereby cutting cost.One way you can cut cost and also help the environment is to build your own solar hot water heater. This is a simple idea that you can try at home. Prior to building your solar hot water heater you need to estimate the amount of water consumed by your family. It is thought that the average person uses about 30 gallons per day. You will need a water tank. This does not necessarily have to be new. Take your time to look around. Once you have 'Water Tank' in your mind you will be surprised at just how many there are around. Look at adverts in local shop windows, or local newspapers, or on the internet, or second hand re-cycling yards.When you have found your water tank, the next thing is to find a locatioin for it. This needs to be somewhere that gets the sun all day. Many people find that the roof of the house is the best spot for locating the tank as this is the highest point and will get the sun all day. If this is your chosen spot it is important to check out with a builder that the roof structure is sufficiently strong to hold the weight of the tank. However it is much easier fix or install it at ground level. Once you have fitted the tank, you should paint it with black paint. This is because the colour black attracts the sun more than other colours and therefore absorbs more energy for the solar hot water heater.Next make a box out of plywood. This needs to be of suitable size so that the water tank will fit inside it in an upright position which is the best position to produce hot water. When the box is made it should be insulated with fibreglass. This will help minimise the amount of escaping energy. When all of this is done place the water tank in the box.Take the plumbing fixtures and the pipes and attach to the bottom of the tank. These are the pipes that will carry the water in to the house.For connecting the solar water heater to the regular water heater in the house it is best to call in a plumber to ensure there are no leaks but as you have carried out most of the work this should not prove to be too expensive and will give you peace of mind that the installation is correct. Remember to cover the exposed pipes with insulation tape to avoid the pipes freezing should the weather turn very cold.
