Solar Heater

Abstract

An air-to-air heat exchanging solar heater consists of at least one panel having a frame surrounding a mounting plate. At least one column of recycled aluminum cans consisting of about 17 cans stacked end to end. Each respective can has its top removed (thus having an open top) and the bottom wall having a plurality of holes, preferably four to eight holes ¾″ in diameter. A baffled air column is therefore defined by the end-to-end stacked cans. A low power fan draws air through the column. Preferably, the at least one panel includes 17 columns of 17 cans and the entire assembly (except for the clear panel) is painted black with a high-temperature paint. The at least one panel includes hardware to create an air passage to an existing heating system and draws fresh air from outside.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM[0001]The present application claims benefit under 35 USC Section 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 395,736 filed on 17 May 2010. The present application is based on and claims priority from this application, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]The present invention relates generally to solar heaters and more specifically to a heat exchange device using an air-to-air circulation system consisting of cans or tubes having diffusers.[0003]The current art is replete with solar heaters that provide complex solutions to an age-old problem—how to convert the energy freely provided by the sun into a useable form. More specifically, the current art teaches solar thermal collectors. Predominantly, the current state of the art teaches utilizing a thermal mass to collect solar radiation and a fluid circulating through the thermal mass to extract heat. One such system, as discussed in US 2009 / 0293862 p...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a low-cost system for efficiently heating using readily available materials. The system uses a series of parallel tubes made of recycled aluminum cans, which are modified to have one end removed and the other end with small openings. The cans are placed in a frame and painted black to increase heat gain. Air is circulated into and out of the cans using low-power electric fans. The system can work without a fan by convection alone. The solar heater produces a lot of heat and can be installed on a sunny exposure. It can be easily assembled from readily available materials and can be connected to an existing heating system. The heated air flow can be directed directly into a room or structure."

Problems solved by technology

Despite numerous publications, web-sites, and other claims, there has yet to be a way to produce inexpensive heat while using readily available, low-cost materials.

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