Building a Solar Collector with Solar Energy Plans
Proper solar energy plans that you can follow step by step are the first things you will need if you are interested in building your own solar collector. Although making your own solar collector may sound difficult to do, it is not really that much of a chore at all if you have good solar energy plans that you can follow.
The First Step
Before you do anything else, you need to make sure that you clearly understand the difference between solar collectors and panels. When considering any solar energy, it is profoundly important to realize first that, although solar collectors absorb solar energy in the form of heat, is the solar panels that are actually turning solar energy into electricity.
Another difference is that solar collectors make use of the greenhouse effect. On the other hand, solar panels convert radiant energy into electricity and today are only really cost effective in remote off-grid areas with a price of about $5/watt.
Materials
There is quite a list of materials that you are going to need for your solar energy plans. These will include two rolls of 50-foot 20” aluminum flashing, four 0.06 thick 4×8 sheets of Kalwall, twenty 1×4x8 pine boards with few or no knots, four 1/2×4x8 CDX plywood, four 1×4x8 sheets of insulation with an R value 5 or better, clear silicon caulking, aluminum foil, some felt paper, one gallon of roofing tar, one gallon of oil base paint, angle irons for mounting, sixteen 1/4×3 lag bolts, sixteen 1/4×1 1/2” machine bolts with nuts and washers, 1 ¼” and 2” drywall screws, one pound of 1 ½” galvanized nails with small heads, and plumbing supplies.
The actual process that will take place will depend on what specific solar energy plans you have. However, the advantages that you will gain will typically remain the same, regardless of the particular plans that you are using.
Advantages
There can be very serious advantages to using solar energy. Should you be fortunate enough to be able to invest $2,000 and a few weeks of labor, you will be able to save in excess of $50,000 in hot water and home heating charges. Since 1,000 to 2,000 gallons of number two oil are used by an average household in the United States each year, solar heating can be a very desirable alternative; and, if it is not used wastefully, your energy bills may be trimmed by as much as fifty percent. You might even be able to eliminate other fuels entirely, which is certainly the ultimate goal to strive for.