newprotest.org: CHEAP HEAT

CHEAP HEAT

April 26, 2007
by: jovial_cynic
I hate bills. Paying for gas, electricity, trash, water, and everything else just eats away at a paycheck that could be used towards more important things, and it drives me nuts.

For that reason, I always look for ways to cut costs. I take short showers, I try to turn off lights that aren't being used, and I prefer turning the heat down and wearing a sweater indoors.



I also like reading about projects online that save money. For instance -- solar heating. This guy took a bunch of aluminum cans, drilled out the bottoms and stacked them to make columns, painted them black, and used them as a solar furnace. Behind a wall of Plexiglas and fed by some vacuum-cleaner hose tubes, these black cans capture light and convert it into heat, drawing ambient-temperature air in from the bottom (hot air rises, causing more air to be drawn in) and delivering hot air out the top.

Genius.

I'm going to see what kind of raw materials I have around my house and get to work making one of these. It won't be useful for me during the summer, where I'll have to look for ways to cool down my house, but during the colder winter months, I'm curious to see how it'll offset my heating bill.
np category: DIY
tags:

COMMENTS for CHEAP HEAT


valdez said:
Have you put one of these together yet?
February 03, 2008


jovial_cynic said:
Nope - not yet. We really don't get enough sunlight here, and when we do, the temperatures are high enough where we generally don't want to heat our homes. It sure sounds like something that would make sense in Montana, though - lots of freezing sunny days...
February 03, 2008


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