Solar Heat Collector Part Deux
Solar Heat Collector
It’s science fair week at my daughter’s school and when she came up empty in regards to what she wanted to try making back in December, I suggested something close to my heart – solar energy. Yes – I was being just a little bit selfish when I suggested making a solar heat collector, but given our new administration’s embrace of alternative energies and the timing of the project, I thought it would be a good project to explore.
Check out the National Renewable Energy website for more kid’s science projects.
I figured it it worked, it would give me incentive to make a large scale one for my garage studio. The original plans I found back in the fall that used mostly recycled materials which called for drilling holes on the top and bottom of empty aluminum cans sounded too dangerous for an 11 year old to attempt making, so she researched different projects and watched several videos (thanks YouTube) and finally decided to make a solar heat collector that incorporated design elements from a few of the projects. Instead of aluminum cans to collect the heat, she used aluminum foil which she painted black.
I knew she needed to be able to make it herself with minimal help from me – I tell her all the time that I’ve already graduated from 5th grade and I have done my share of homework in my life time. This was her project and I’m so proud of her, and I was equally excited to see her discoveries! I did act as the official photographer in order to document her temperature readings.
She used recycled materials and built two boxes for less than $3.00 apiece – though we did purchase a Ryobi IR 001 Infrared Thermometer for $29.95 at Home Depot in order for her to take her temperature readings. I can’t find the tool on the Home Depot Site – but it’s the coolest new gadget and has uses outside of her science project. It’s billed as a tool to perform energy audits of one’s home and is good for -4° F to 600° F.
Click on any image to scroll through her photo album how she built her solar heat collector.
26 Photos
My daughter made 2 different solar heat collectors that were constructed exactly alike – the only difference is that she painted one of them black and left the other one unpainted with aluminum foil exposed. The unpainted one did produce heat, but not like the one painted black.
9 am temperature reading
12pm temperature readings
Yep – you’re seeing this correctly – at 12pm, when the sun was highest in the sky, her black painted box was registering a temperature of 165° F!
5pm temperature readings
You can see that by 5pm, when the sun had nearly set and the air temperature was in the 30′s, there was barely any difference between each of the boxes. In fact, at this time of day the temperature difference was negligent.
Pretty amazing, don’t you think? Free heat! There is a real limitation. The practically free heat collector doesn’t store heat – so it’s only really good as a supplemental heat source when the sun is shining.
Meanwhile, I actually spent some time in my studio today.
It felt good,
~Cynthia
Meredith Heywood
January 22, 2009 at 5:26 am //
we could all learn from your daughter.
we were just talking about using some of the free sun coming in off the new windows.
I hope her project is received well and good for you for not doing it for her- you see too much of that these days.
A gold star for raising a thinking child who will be come a thinking adult.
Cynthia
January 22, 2009 at 7:18 am //
Well, I did give her the idea, Meredith….
It’s really hard to take a back seat some times, because I could have made the collectors much faster. Also, I couldn’t really leave the room either because my daughter needed a bit of verbal reassurance at times. That could be partly due to her age, but before answering her questions, I asked my own to make her think and make decisions so that they were her’s and not mine. What I love about this project is that it has such practical applications.
But, that reminds me, back in the day of potty training, when I was convinced she’d be in diapers her whole life, a friend asked if I had ever seen high school or college kids in diapers – I was relieved none the less after thinking about it.
jafabrit
January 22, 2009 at 6:58 am //
that is awesome and what a fab project to work on with your daughter.
Cynthia
January 22, 2009 at 7:13 am //
I have to say, I was skeptical to say the least and didn’t expect such dramatic results. It is a good kick in the pants for me to try making a larger one for my studio. My father in law said he would help – and of course, now that I have an engineer in the house, she can help too! The large scale one will be built using wood and will have to be weather proofed, unlike my daughter’s cardboard one.
Mary T.
January 22, 2009 at 9:08 am //
I love that she is spray painting in her jammies. Such a kid thing to do and the hat adds a little cache also. Good science project!
Cynthia
January 22, 2009 at 7:55 pm //
hehehe – I did suggest that she change clothes, and she asked, “Why?” I couldn’t come up with an answer, so she stayed in her jammies all day.
Chae
January 22, 2009 at 10:38 am //
This is exciting !!!
I remember back a few months ago when you were exploring this concept.
165 degrees? Wow!
And what a great project for a 5th grader!
I’m wondering now if with the addition of a 12-volt battery and one of those mini-fans if it would circulate the air?
Hugs
Chae
Cynthia
January 22, 2009 at 7:54 pm //
We are thinking of buying a small solar panel and a computer fan to test having a blower – Chae. We did see some online that either plugged a fan in to an outlet and some that simply used a small photo voltaic panel. I’ll have to see how much one costs. We’re also going to take this one apart and add channels after she brings it home from school just for fun. I guess this means it was a success…
denise
January 22, 2009 at 3:01 pm //
Great project and great job supporting your daughters learning. It isn’t always easy to stick to the supportive role as they figure things out themselves. I had to laugh at your comment about telling her you graduated 5th grade already – I say something similar to my daughter.
Cynthia
January 22, 2009 at 7:51 pm //
I had a chance to peruse the other science fair projects this afternoon while they were being judged – and there were some pretty cool ones! Some were obviously all kid and some were all parent – Jasmine’s fell somewhere in between. I do wish she had chosen to do this project without my prompting, but when I ask her if she wishes she had done something else, she says, “No, this was super cool!” I guess I can’t ask for anything else.
Janet
January 22, 2009 at 5:47 pm //
Neat. Are you going to put it to use in the garagio?
BTW, someone wears Uggs.
Cynthia
January 22, 2009 at 7:47 pm //
Hehehe – they’re Target knock-offs, Janet! I need to build a gigantic one and put it one the roof – my neighbor’s roof blocks the sun on the south side….
annewebb
January 23, 2009 at 12:14 pm //
Too cool. I like the fact that she was totally jazzed by the idea of doing this. Pretty constructive project, not just a science fair experiment that she couldn’t apply in real life.
I’d rather be helping with science experiments than doing tax. That’s what I’ve been wrapped up with all morning.
Cynthia
January 25, 2009 at 12:10 pm //
Yep – did taxes last Tuesday – not fun, but something that must be done….
Linda Starr
January 24, 2009 at 12:28 am //
When the sun’s shining I get passive solar heat in my little studio and it sure makes a big difference. The temperature difference in this project amazes me, please tell your daughter I learned I shouldn’t wear black in summer.
Cynthia
January 25, 2009 at 12:09 pm //
It was pretty cool to see the temperature difference happen right before our eyes! The proof was in the pudding for sure.