The collectors you built are going to be blocking the direct solar gain that would come in from the window.
Window box solar collector.
If you decide to completely cover the window you have the added benefit.
The entire collector box is made out of aluminum which made it easy to work with various pre made sheets and tubing sizes from the local hardware store.
The beauty of a solar box window heater is you can make one of these for about 100.
Believe it or not this simple and effective window box diy solar heating collector can be fabricated in just under an hour by an experienced home craftsman or in less than two hours by the.
You can build a well sized solar air box that will help heat your house for around a hundred dollars or so depending on the materials you have at hand.
Homemade passive solar window heater in action.
Such designs have been around for many decades.
Diy solar air heater boxes.
First choose a south facing window and measure the window frame and decide if you want to cover the window completely or not with your solar heater.
You re going to get this solar gain weather or not there s a collector in the window.
As the air warms it rises and enters back into the room through the upper chamber.
You see a window provides just as much heat as a solar collector of the same size would as long as it s letting direct sunlight into the house.
It s not complicated but you will need basic construction skills and some time to work through th.
In the photos above you can see the homemade passive solar window heater.
Another key aspect to the solar sponge design is the use of very thin 1mm poly carbonate sheeting for the front cover.
For the screen collector you need the dimension from the back of the glazing to the bottom of the box to be about 5 inches.