During the most dreadful cold season, heaters are man's best friend. But like most home appliances, heaters can do much damage when it comes to electric bills. Henceforth, solar power enthusiasts have devised a way on how to build a solar air heater that is not only affordable but relatively easy to do. To make your own solar air heater, you will need to build a box made of plywood. This box, which is recommended to be insulated, will hold five rows of ten aluminum soda cans. These cans are to be painted black. To prevent hot air from escaping, the box must be sealed. From the bottom of your plywood-made box, cold air may be drawn while the hot air comes from the top. The same hot air shall pass through a pipe where it will be heated.
Like all other solar powered appliances, the solar air heater require a solar panel that will absorb the light energy and later convert it into a heat generating device. For the solar air heater, you can use a sheet of plexiglass. You must glue this to the plywood box but only to let the sun's rays inside. Once again, make sure that the heated air is sealed inside the box. One of the main thrusts of how to build a solar air heater is the heating process conducted within the aluminum cans. It is inside these cans that the air is heated, and this later rises up going towards the pipes that then release the hot air into the room which needs warming up.
The aluminum cans are responsible for holding the heated air, for it is in their column that the air passes through. Because there is already a drinking hole on top of the aluminum can, there is only a need to drill one more hole at the bottom of the can to ensure the passage of air. Because silicon plays a major role in light absorption and energy conversion, the cans are glued together with the use of a silicon adhesive. Painting them black also helps in light absorption. The final steps in how to build a solar air heater involves sealing the box with a tempered glass sheet. This will make sure that hot air does not escape. All in all, the steps in making your own solar air heater are simple if you have the necessary materials and the patience to wait until the all the components have been assembled together and brought to their functional capacity. At the end of the day, you have nothing to lose when you make your own solar air heater. Nothing to lose, but only so much to gain---heating, knowledge, and experience-wise.
