Passive solar DIY

[txlibdem]

Here's a pretty inexpensive way to add solar heating if your garage faces south. Costs $400...

This inexpensive and easy-to-build project converts a garage
that has a south-facing overhead door into a solar-heated
and lighted workshop, studio, playroom, sun space, or
greenhouse, using readily available materials and hardware.
If you’re handy with a few power tools, you’re good to go,
with one caveat—if your garage door doesn’t face south,
this project won’t work for you.

Here is the site link: http://homepower.com/article/?file=HP117_pg26_Reysa
the article itself is PDF and is at: http://homepower.com/view/?file=HP117_pg26_Reysa

Includes pictures and it looks pretty darn good if you ask me.

BTW, this is the first in what I hope will be a series of posts on passive solar. It goes under the heading of "why in the heck AREN'T we doing this?!?" in my view...

[WolverineDG]

1. especially here in South Texas

Every summer, I wonder why the hell we're letting so much energy go to waste.

dg

[txlibdem]

2. The article was about passive solar heat in the winter

I thought the info from the article would really help in winter.

Your garage door needs to be facing pretty much to the south, though, or it won't help. I planned to do a little more research and post info that might help the rest of us (my garage faces West).

[WolverineDG]

3. yes, it could

but what I'm harping about is the fact that Texas has not done anything towards getting more to use solar energy, hence all that sun power that we get in the summer is wasted.

Passive/active/whatever---Texas *should* be leading the nation in the use of solar power. :)

dg

[txlibdem]

4. I misunderstood your meaning

Sorry.

Texas is among the leaders in wind power generation and we should also be one of the leaders in the nation for solar power as well. That should be a no-brainer, as far as I can see.

I'd like to see more subsidies for residential solar and I wish they'd change the feed in tariff to make it actually worth a darn here.