Every year this happens! It's cold in the house and warm outside!

[Nifty]

We are in that time of year that it gets really cold outside at night, which drops the temp in the house, so in the morning it is really cold inside. I go outside to get wood for the fire and it's like 65 degrees and the sun is shining.

Opening windows and blowing fans to try to exchange the air doesn't seem like a good idea because I think that would make us feel colder.

I'd love to find a way to get all the solar heat from outside the house inside!

I've researched this almost every year and been tempted to build a solar collector like these:

http://solar.freeonplate.com/solar_panel_DIY.htm
http://www.energyboom.com/solar/cheap-diy-solar-collectors-made-recycled-soda-and-beer-cans

... but I never do it because I can't think of a good place or a clean way to get the heated air into the house and I'm not excited about drilling holes through the walls.

Maybe some day.

 

[okra]

We have the very same problem during the winter months in Cyprus and find it better to spend the daylights hours outside in the warmth. Our main source of heat is a woodburning stove but the temperature inside the house at night is cold

We have been collecting aluminium cans with the intention of building a solar heat exchanger and will get around to the project at some stage.

 

[Marianne]

What about a passive solar unit that fits in a south window, like Mother's Heat Grabber? Then you could just open your window a bit to install it, no holes in the wall required. It'd be some 'free' heat when the sun was shining.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1978-11-01/Mothers-Heat-Grabber-Is-Back.aspx

On the http://builditsolar.com site, they did some tests on various passive solar units. Two layers of black metal window screen, held slightly apart, performed better than the soda pop cans or anything else they tested. They were surprised. So was I.

http://builditsolar.com/Experimental/AirColTesting/Index.htm

 

[CheerioLounge]

Thst heat grabber is pretty cool. I wonder if it could be adapted to work in a window that slides open as opposed to a double hung type? I could use that!

 

[Marianne]

That might be pretty tough to do, but let us know if you can figure it out, eh?