Question:

home made solar panelsCan anyone give me advice on obtaining a solar meter. We need it to switch on our home made solar panel when the solar gain is right. Derek

Response:

Can anyone give me advice on obtaining a solar meterhome made solar panels. We need it to switch on our home made solar panel when the solar gain is right. Derek

There are many ways in which you can design a switching strategy.home made solar panels  The simplest way is to switch when a certain level of brightness is detected by a solar cell.  But that might not be an optimal strategy. For example, if the sun comes out from behind a cloud, the brightness registers immediately, but the solar panel heat transfer medium (air or liquid) takes a while to heat up to a useful temperature. home made solar panels If you switch on your circulating pump or fan based solely on sunlight, you will be circulating cold water or air for a while, so you will actually be losing heat.home made solar panels  A better strategy would be to measure the temperature in the collector and the temperature in the house or heat storage medium, and switch on your solar panel when the temperature differential is high enough.  Look for a differential thermostat. -Robert Scott  Ypsilanti, Michigan (Reply through newsgroups, not by direct e-mail, as automatic reply address is fake.)

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My standard air-collector design uses a direct-acting “ON-110/OFF-90″ snap disc thermostat in the fan circuit.  You could do the same to activate a relay, etc. I mount the thermostat in a nearly-stagnated sensing chamber (located near the intake of the collector) so the nose faces the sun, right under the glazing.home made solar panels  I paint the thermostat nose hi-temp black.  Mounted this way, the thermostat has combined inputs: collector temp, home made solar panelsoutdoor ambient air temp, and solar insolation. It usually spikes up to turn-on temperature within a minute of sun, and it runs about 3 minutes without sun before dropping out. — Bill Kreamer Sol-Air Company 129 Miller St.

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Question:

Hi Has anyone had any experience, and,or ideas where I can find good documentation on how to make a solar heating system foor my pool? It is only 5 m diameter and about 1 m high, stand up model. I do have the advantage of living in Tenerife where we have nearly all year round sunshine and temperature rarely drop below 16 C. Thanks in advance

Response:

Hi Has anyone had any experience, and,or ideas where I can find good documentation on how to make a solar heating system foor my pool? It is only 5 m diameter and about 1 m high, stand up model. I do have the advantage of living in Tenerife where we have nearly all year round sunshine and temperature rarely drop below 16 C.

There have been low cost solar pool heaters listed on ebay, some going for less than wholesale. Joe Fischer

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Hi Has anyone had any experience, and,or ideas where I can find good documentation on how to make a solar heating system foor my pool? It is only 5 m diameter and about 1 m high, stand up model. I do have the advantage of living in Tenerife where we have nearly all year round sunshine and temperature rarely drop below 16 C. Thanks in advance

paint the bottom of the pool in black and build a small greenhouse around it. Jack

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Where is Tenerife ? Sounds wonderful.

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Has anyone had any experience, and,or ideas where I can find good documentation on how to make a solar heating system foor my pool? It is only 5 m diameter and about 1 m high, stand up model. I do have the advantage of living in Tenerife where we have nearly all year round sunshine and temperature rarely drop below 16 C. Thanks in advance paint the bottom of the pool in black and build a small greenhouse around it. Jack

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If it’s that warm, why do you need to heat it ??

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi Has anyone had any experience, and,or ideas where I can find good documentation on how to make a solar heating system foor my pool? It is only 5 m diameter and about 1 m high, stand up model. I do have the advantage of living in Tenerife where we have nearly all year round sunshine and temperature rarely drop below 16 C. Thanks in advance

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Painting it black seems a little radical I think, Building a greenhouse around it? I don’t think so. It is always sunny here, but still, at night thw water cools down a lot so I still need a small heating system for “winter” months. Nobody knows af a simple design?

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Painting it black seems a little radical I think,

mayby but black is getting warm faster  Building a greenhouse around it? I don’t think so. It is always sunny here, but still, at night thw water cools down a lot

exactly but with a greenhouse around water warms up faster in the morning and cools down slower at night so I still need a small heating system for “winter” months. Nobody knows af a simple design?

mayby next time try to build your pool in thermos technology and provide foamed polysterene cover at water-level at night it doesn’t warm the water, but makes water to last warm longer. Jack

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Painting it black seems a little radical I think, Building a greenhouse around it? I don’t think so. It is always sunny here, but still, at night thw water cools down a lot so I still need a small heating system for “winter” months. Nobody knows af a simple design?

Black landscaping plastic sheet.  Only if you have a fence and NO CHILDREN. You can always buy a the bubble sheets sold at pool supply stores. I had one for several years. It does work but they only last a couple of years here. Phoenix area. UV kills them I saw a pool in Tahoe once with black ping pong balls. I doubt that I could afford all that would be needed. Unfortunately cheap and solar really do not go well with each other. Do not bother with the black paint. I knew a guy that put small brown tile in the pool to warm it up. Never helped cost a fortune.

Response:

Hi Has anyone had any experience, and,or ideas where I can find good documentation on how to make a solar heating system foor my pool? It is only 5 m diameter and about 1 m high, stand up model. I do have the advantage of living in Tenerife where we have nearly all year round sunshine and temperature rarely drop below 16 C. Thanks in advance

Jan, there will be lots of simple systems which you could make. If you can put some solar panels below your pool, you will be able to use convection to make the water flow. If not you may need a pump. If your pool already has one, you will be able to use that. One of the more simple methods is a long coil of black alkathene (spelling ?) pipe sitting in the sun. The other is a home made solar panel with a glass front and metal back and copper pipe inside. I’m sure if you do some searching for things like “diy solar panels” or “homemade solar panels” on the net, you will find some plans. If you don’t, let us know and I’ll have a hunt too. These systems will allow you to raise the temparature of your pool, but it is worth investigating covers to reduce the heat you lose via radiation, especially at night.

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