It’s easy to make hay while the sun shines but how can we use of the sunlight energy in the evening? Buckminster Fuller once explained that it’s possible to solve many natural problems by observing Mother Nature. As you know plants use light energy in the presence of chlorophyll to convert low energy CO2 +H2O to sugar and people use light in the presence of photovoltaic panels to make electricity that may be used to store energy by recharging a battery.Light Energy may also be transformed into heat energy. This process of transforming light into heat is a common phenomena that’s at least as important as making food energy. Without the heat trapping ability of clouds and greenhouse gasses our planet would be a frozen wasteland. A certain amount of heat is necessary for live, but unregulated fossil fuel emission could destroy the delicate balance of nature that we depend on. If we are to live in harmony with nature we must learn use of the abundant supply of heat from the sun wisely.
Intermittent Energy from sunlight is an inconvenient truth, but the combustion products from oil are destroying our planet so we must find energy concentrate alternatives, and we must find ways to store solar heat for rainy days or cold winter nights. Manufacturing insulation from oil products makes more sense than burning oil products that accelerate the global warming trend. Manufactured products can be used over and over again but the energy from combustion can only be used once. Plastic foam insulations made from petroleum products are worth their weight in gold when it comes to using non-renewable resources. Polyisocyanurate and polyethylene foam products are among the most cost effective materials available for storing heat. Copper and Aluminum are commonly used to transfer collected heat into heat storage vaults but there are some less expensive petroleum based products that may be used for the same purpose.
PEX (cross linked polyethylene) is gradually replacing Copper in many plumbing operations. It’s commonly used in radiant floor heating systems and it has recently been used inside DIY solar collectors heat storage tanks. PEX is less expensive than Copper, but the surface area heat exchange requirements of PEX is greater than copper. PEX has a proven value in the solar thermal heat exchange business, but there are still other plastic products worth mentioning.
Recycled Polyethylene Drums make excellent, low cost heat storage containers. They may be obtained for little or no cost. Some companies actually pay people to have the empties removed. As sealed drums they can be connected in series to stratify heat and improve collector performance. If collector surface areas and the drum volumes are sufficient all the heat and domestic hot water requirements of a household could be met without resorting to fossil fuel emissions.
Multiple Low Cost Drums are needed to make good use of the intermittent, diffuse nature of sunlight. As we know sunlight is rare in winter so we need to be ready when it arrives. A typical cold climate dwelling may require a thousand foot array to harvest the fuel oil equivalent energy found in 3 gallons of number 2 fuel oil so we’ll also need a well insulated house as part of the solar home package. Several tons of solar heated water inside 16 plastic drums are needed to store the sun’s heat for extended intervals of time, but energy-independent, cold-climate homeowners should still be prepared with a woodstove backup.
The “Solar Age” is beginning and the “age of oil” is grinding to an end. Opportunities in the field of renewable energy are opening and the doors are closing for those corporations with limited energy resources. The way of the future will be the way of living in harmony with nature. This way will only be limited by our imagination and by the light in the sky that makes imagination possible.
http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/diy_solar_heat_storage.htm
