PV Gap

Clayton Said:

How to build a model solar home?

We Answered:

Capacitor's would work but hard to regulate.

You could try going with the plain old rechargables.

Or build a dry cell from scratch.

If I were you find a buch of recharable as you can and use em'; cell's aren't that bad but you would need to find the right resources for your needs. Capacitors are just plain hard to keep controlled and regulated

Ryan Said:

need instruction help for a high-school project of building a model of a solar home?

We Answered:

go to a site called ... building greener ,....
it tells about building a building that's environmentally better

Gabriel Said:

My son has to build a solar home for his school project what would be the best material to use?

We Answered:

what size are we talking here? small use some of that packing material and use a exacto (sp) knife to form, shape sides roof , put it together with something that won't melt the Styrofoam

Marion Said:

Direct Vent or High efficiency heater to supplement in a solar home? which one?

We Answered:

Mpffff.... Not sure what you mean.

a) All, repeat ALL electric resistance heaters are equally efficient, inasmuch as the BTU/watt does not change whether it is a stupidly priced Eden Pure or a simple Pelonis type. And, most residential-type plug-in resistance heaters run on "low" between 750 watts and 1000 watts, and on high at a *maximum* of 1500 watts - at least in the US.
b) High-efficiency fuel-fired heaters are almost universally direct-vent types (condensing heaters) and also require direct make-up air for additional energy savings.
c) The amount of power drawn by a fuel-fired heater is a function of the fan-size (or pump if a boiler) more than anything else. The amount of power required to operate the burner and vent the combustion-gases is very tiny - less than a 100-watt light-bulb almost certainly - and does not really have much to do with the actual size of the heater.

So, if you have a forced-air system, and you are contemplating a furnace, you want to look at the Fan size. If a boiler, the pump requirement. But note that in both cases these units seldom take more than a few hundred watts at most! Our 230,000 BTU, 96% efficient Weil McLain system with three (3) circulators uses less than 350 watts at full burn and with all three pumps running.