Build Your Own Solar Window Heater for $10 - Save $45 a Month

November 16, 2007

This is my project for the weekend - to build a solar window heater (shown in the video below). It’s been a fairly mild winter here in Japan thus far and I have managed not to take out the space heater, but it’s been getting colder and it is just a matter of time. With heating costs far above what they are in the US, it pays to find ways to save on heating where ever possible.

Heating bills are going to wreck more than a few budgets this winter even in the US with the price of oil skyrocketing, so finding an easy way to save on heating is something that I assume most people are interested in. The video below shows how to create a solar window heater for about $10 - I tested the plastic container with black paper shown at the end of the video and could feel the heat, so I’m definitely interested in this project. That $45 a month estimated savings will be about $100 a month here.

Take a look and I think you’ll find the video interesting - especially for those that are looking to decrease their heating bills this winter:

Easy FREE Home Heat!

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Information: November 16th, 2007; 8 Responses

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Categories: Do-It-Yourself; How To; Saving Money; Utilities

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Reader Comments

Comment Number:: 1
Written by:: Peggie
Posted on:: November 16, 2007 at 6:33 am

I am going to try this one! Thanks for sharing. We use propane to heat and it is expensive. While I am not fond of the looks of that in the window, I sure could use the savings.

Comment Number:: 2
Written by:: mike (Subscribed)
Posted on:: November 16, 2007 at 10:22 am

I’m unconvinced - the physics don’t add up on this one.

In order to make a room warmer, this box would need to either increase the amount of energy entering the room, or decrease the amount leaving it. I don’t see how it can do either.

Put another way, while a stream of hot air will come out of it, and that will warm the room, the box will cast a shadow which will cool the room. They will cancel each other out and there will be no net gain in room temperature.

If you still don’t believe me, consider this: on a sunny day, closing the curtains help keep a room cool–even if they’re dark colored curtains. Whats different about this box that makes it behave different from the curtains?

Comment Number:: 3
Written by:: Joan.of.the.Arch (Subscribed)
Posted on:: November 17, 2007 at 8:30 am

I agree with Mike above. This device would need to be placed outside the house in a space through which light would not otherwise pass on its way to illuminate and warm the room. The box does not make more heat than comes into the room without it’s presence, does it?

To get extra heat into the room, place the box outside -say- on the brick or siding. Build a channel for warm air to flow from the box through to the slightly opened window, which, of course, must be sealed all around any gapped spaces.

None the less, this is a reminder to me to go and open my south facing windows for the day.

Comment Number:: 4
Written by:: Joan.of.the.Arch (Subscribed)
Posted on:: November 17, 2007 at 8:30 am

eh–I’d better open my curtains, not my windows!

Comment Number:: 5
Written by:: DIY solar window heater
Posted on:: December 17, 2007 at 9:10 am

[…] This video offers great tips for making your own solar window heater. I’d used a similar heater many years ago in Maine, and it worked very well. This version is a vast improvement, and should help lower heating bills. […]

Comment Number:: 6
Written by:: Mel (Subscribed)
Posted on:: February 20, 2008 at 8:14 am

Oh my goodness! I am so excited about this idea. We have been searching the net for ideas for my childs alternative energy project. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to put this on the net. We are now excited about the project and also excited about using it in our own home. Did mike and joan of the Arch try it? The person from Maine said a similar one worked for her. Maybe they should build one and experiement first. I will let you know how it turns out! Thanks again!

Comment Number:: 7
Written by:: Prof Paul Matty
Posted on:: March 21, 2008 at 6:55 pm

mike and Joan.of.the.Arch

What a bunch of hypocrites.
It is obvious, by way of your blinkered comments you have not attempted this project nor have any knowledge of physics of thermal energy transfer.
I have both.
The improvements to our test room was a 10deg C (not F) increase in room temperature 14’ x 16’ x 10’ within 1.5 hours of installation in a south facing window. I would suggest that, you should at least perform the smaller test before commenting on something that works well. Prof

Comment Number:: 8
Written by:: heatmiser
Posted on:: May 1, 2008 at 1:09 pm

I may not be a professor, but I did go to engineering school where they drummed into our heads the concept of conservation of energy. Mike and Joan.of.the.arch are correct. That cardboard box with pennies in it is not going to make more energy come into the window than was coming into it before. Whether the sun is heating your hardwood floor or those pennies makes no difference. The box is probably just collecting heat that would normally have just radiated away into the house. There is only so much sunlight that is going to fit in that window.

By the way - I believe it is illegal to damage United States Currency in that fashion.