cheap solar heating ?

dyrniboy

Hi,

Have recently replaced some central heating radiators and was thinking if they were painted matt black in some sort of box with a reclaimed double glazed unit on top, could they be used to provide solar heating ?

Any thoughts ?

tim_n

Yes - easily as long as your roof will take the weight and you have the experience to plumb them in!

Check out the center of alternative technology - they have an exhibit made of a radiator though it has to be said vaccum tubes are a lot more efficent!

Cardew

You can't just plumb an outside radiator into your Domestic Hot Water system; it needs a sensor/valve to ensure that the water is hotter than tank contents.

Radiator nice and clean inside? Chance of germs?

Might be OK for a swimming pool but a house?

Savvy_Sue

My cousin in France put a radiator on the roof of the outhouse, plumbed into an outside sink. They use the outhouse as a spare bedroom, and the outside sink is very useful for washing up after al fresco meals, of which they have many in the summer!

dyrniboy

Glar to see there is a bit of interest in this !. Cardew, I was,nt really thinking of actually using the water directly ,but using the heated water to heat an element in a tank to actually raise it,s temperature before using. This way the water in the radiator could have antifreeze in it to stop it freezing up in the depths of winter.

Cardew

dyrniboy wrote:

Glar to see there is a bit of interest in this !. Cardew, I was,nt really thinking of actually using the water directly ,but using the heated water to heat an element in a tank to actually raise it,s temperature before using. This way the water in the radiator could have antifreeze in it to stop it freezing up in the depths of winter.

But unless you have a sophisticated sensing device and valve you will get the reverse function of the water in your tank heating the water in your radiator.

Once you get into the costs of a modified tank, plumbing, valves etc the system is not viable in economic terms.

Even well designed purpose built systems only save 50 or so pounds a year.

ManAtHome

What you need is Practical Householder (or similar) from the 1970s... Matt black radiator in box with glass front plumbed into indirect hot-water cylinder - you'll probably have one of these if you have oldish gas CH. Never really caught on, but sounds like fun...