A Solar Heating System for Homes

This report describes a low-cost solar home heating system to supplement thehomeowner's present warm-air heating system. The report is written in three parts:(1) A brief background on solar heating, (2) Langley's experience with a demonstrationsystem, and (3) information for the homeowner who wishes to construct such a system.Instructions are given to the homeowner for a solar heating installation in which he suppliesall labor necessary to install off-the-shelf components estimated to cost $2000.These components, which include solar collector, heat exchanger, water pump, storagetank, piping, and controls to make the system completely automatic, are readily availableat local lumber yards, hardware stores, and plumbing supply stores, and they are relativelysimple to install. Manufacturers and prices of each component used and a roughcost analysis based on these prices are given for the homeowner's convenience. Thisreport also gives performance data obtained from a demonstration system which has beenbuilt and tested at the Langley Research Center. Results of the tested demonstration systemindicate that the homeowner can reduce his heating bill by approximately 40 percentfor a 1500-foot2 home insulated to 1974 FHA minimum standards. If fuel-oil costs areassumed to increase at 10 percent per year, this $2000 investment will be recovered inapproximately 10 years.