DIY Solar Air Heater – The Initial Project Construction Steps

You are the one who believes in the conservation of electricity and as such you take extra care in switching off of the lights which are not required. You have shifted to CFL bulbs and removed the entire conventional bulbs.

You have stopped using your air conditioner to cool your home and instead are using the normal fan or you have set thermostat at 66°during the night. All these efforts are laudable, but have you ever thought of using the alternate source of energy, could be because of paucity of funds, you cannot invest in the Photovoltaic (PV) array or hot solar water system.

The answer to all this is solar air heater. You must determine the window which you will allocate to build the solar air heater, a double hung window can be an ideal choice, it should face south to south west, and should get sun light for the greater part of the day.

You will have to build a frame which is 1 ½” than the clear opening and 36″ to 48″ tall, use treated wood for long life. Ensure that the solar air heater is fixed well and well secured in the window. You must seal all the joints very well, cut the rigid insulation back to fit the frame leaving a gap of around 5 ½” at the top.

Place two spacers in the middle and at the edges which should be around 2″, now add the horizontal rigid insulation between the arms and the bottom and one in the middle of the arms. Make it strong and secure using adhesives on all the four sides.

Cut the corner bead and secure with roofing nails to the insulation with fins pointing outside. Paint the entire interior of the solar heater with black spray paint; apply the compressible foam weather stripping along the face of the entire frame.

You may use silicon sealant that will prevent you to remove glass in future. Insert a piece of the weather stripping between the aluminum angle and the glass. Your solar air heater is ready to be installed. You must make it weather proof so that the heat is not lost.

Once you have opened the window and place the heater inside. Lower the sash and install foam weather stripping along the line where the sash meets the heater. Now cut the air conditioner foam weather stripping as per the width of the sash and insert the same between the sashes at the bottom of exterior sash.

The gaps should be filled between the heater and the window jamb with expandable foam. Now install insulating window film over the window, securing the bottom of the horizontal piece of decking. Now finally cut a piece of rigid insulation to fit the top opening of the heater to prevent any heat loss. You can use an old bath towel also for this purpose.

To keep water out you can also add a piece of aluminum flashing at the top of the solar air heater. Now this installation your solar air heater is ready and installed.

DIY Solar Air Heater Guide

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Adding Home Insulation To Reduce Electricity Consumption




The only logical and reasonable way to make your home be energy efficient is to look at the house as one whole and indivisible unit. You might think that you will be able to reduce your energy bills by reinstalling and replacing the windows of your home with novelty top tech windows after the removal of your old window frames, but the reality is quite different.

Although your electrical consumption may be slightly reduced, the difference won’t be so drastic unless your home has a good insulation. The energy use of your home may be slightly lowered by the plugging of the air leaks in the windows, but it will not be as effective and resistant to the outdoor conditions without a proper insulation.

The importance of the insulation is in the maintenance of the constant temperature level in the home by isolation of the house against the outside weather conditions. This eventually leads to conservation of energy. The more the temperature in the home is influenced and exposed to the outdoor weather, the more energy is invested in trying to achieve the temperature set on the thermostat.

Some people ignore the cause of the problem and reset the temperature fixed on the thermostat. This will result in a lower energy use and decrease the energy bills, but it will also reduce the comfort in your home. You will find yourself covered in blankets during winter time and sweating in summer.

Instead of spending big amounts of money on energy bills or giving up the comfort of your home, it is better to focus on the insulation as the real problem. If you recognize you have a similar issue or a problem, you should consult an energy expert. He or she will estimate the energy inefficiency of your household and will recommend a suitable insulation for your home.

They might recommend using cellulose or a spray insulation. The insulation is mainly appraised with the R-value, which represents the extent of the ability to resist a heat flow. The R-value mostly depends on the location of your home and the length of time that has passed since your home has been built. The higher the R-value is, the bigger is the magnitude of the protection your home receives.

Houses that are located in colder climate require a higher R-value than those that are located in warmer weather conditions. This means that a house located in North Dakota where temperatures tend to get lower needs an insulation with higher R-value than the ones located in warmer cities such as Texas or Alabama.



Houses that have been built prior to the year 2000 should be reassessed for meeting with the newer and up to date insulation requirements and standards. With the rises in the prices of the energy sources, you should be concerned about removing the air leaks in your home. But if you manage to get a proper insulation for your home, your family will save a big amounts of money on energy bills each year.

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the half of the family’s energy budget is spent on expenses for heating or cooling of the home. This means that half of your money spent on energy bills can be saved with a proper insulation and without even reducing the comfort of your home. That is the reason why you should contact an energy expert today.

Getting Energy Saving Bulbs With The Right Brightness




In these days, more and more people becoming aware of the causes of global warming and resultant impacts on climatic conditions. This is why people start preferring energy saving bulbs, to the conventional ones.

Nowadays all commercial and residential premises are getting lighted with energy efficient bulbs. While selecting such energy saving bulbs, focus should be given on buying one of the best brands that would help save maximum energy.

One has to be careful in identifying the best quality energy bulbs, which produce proper brightness. This is because, some brands of such light have been found producing less brightness. If there is any doubt in choosing the best quality energy saving bulbs that suit your lighting fixtures, it is always wise to seek the opinion of electricians or other experts.

Immediately on installation of energy efficient bulbs, a drastic reduction in electricity bills cannot be anticipated all of a sudden. It is by gradual use of such bulbs, you will find a noticeable reduction in your energy charges. The energy costs will sharply fall as and when you put into use more number of such bulbs.

Over a period of one year, you will become a satisfied customer with a significant reduction in energy costs .The financial savings you make would really worth the money you invest for such replacements. It is better to replace all ordinary bulbs in your residence with the energy savers.

Your energy bill will find considerably low by doing so. It is generally found that the decorative bulbs people use for homes are actually consuming more energy than a variety of other bulbs. Hence if you have a real motive to cut down energy usage and save money, it is important to replace such decorative bulbs too with the energy saving ones. It is to be understood that lights play a very important part for maintaining the elegance of your house.

Hence lighting your house is one of the areas that should catch your prime attention. Therefore minute care should be taken in selecting best type of energy saving bulbs after a thorough market search.

Such types of bulbs include MR16, Tune, Xenon, Candle blunt tip, halogen and fluorescent, the quality of which can be test checked by illuminating a given space. These lights are to be so installed as to illuminate maximum interior space of a house perfectly.



Fluorescent lamps have the efficiency of diffusing the light equally in all directions and hence they are the best fixtures available in the market. Some people may feel them a bit irritating and may not choose them. There are now advanced fluorescent lights which are not only elegant decorative items, but also excellent lighting fixtures.

Halogen bulbs are other kinds of lights working with tungsten filaments and gas- filled enclosures. These are known to be the brightest sources of energy now available in the market. Halogen lights are ideal for use as spot lights to highlight a specific area of a house like fire place or wall paintings. Large type halogen lights are widely in use as spots lights in home-theaters and entertainment rooms.