Ok, something a little different this time…. Of recent years, the world seems to be going crazy about “carbon footprints” and “renewable energy”.

I suppose that we should all take an interest in it, it’s a fact that the “fossil fuels” will eventually run out…. they are a finite resource.

Before they run out though, gas and oil will become prohibitively expensive for consumers, and the residential user will have to find an alternative, or face paying most of the monthly pay check for the privilege of lighting, hot water and heating.

It was a lovely day last Sunday, the sun was out for a change and my “other half” suggested that we go an visit the local car boot sale. So, off we went and upon getting there we were presented with a vast array of what can only be described as “garbage and waste bin fillers”.

However, one mans junk is another mans treasure, and I came upon a stall selling what was left of a house clearance (or so they said). Whilst poking about amongst the various items on the table in front of me, I found some computer cd’s (as opposed to music cd’s) and out of sheer nosiness I gave the woman 50 pence for the 5 disc’s.

Some time later, we arrived home, and after unloading my other half’s “bargains”, I decided to go into my office and have a look if there was anything of any value on the disc’s I had purchased.

To my complete surprise, amongst 2 that were too scratched to play, 1 that didn’t want to be recognised as a data cd (or anything else either for that matter) was a disc with the following PDF, describing a DIY Solar Water Batch Heater.

So I sat and read the PDF and I thought it was a really good idea.

It shows how to build a wooden trough, line it with a heat receptive liner, cover it with a UVA resistant cover, fill it with water and how to pipe it into your hot water system at home. What a cheap alternative to the relatively expensive solar water heating systems that can be bought over the counter at the moment.

I guess some of you are waiting for the bit where I say “I rushed out and bought all the bits and built one straight away”… Well, I didn’t, not because I think it’s a waste of time, but because where I live in the Midlands in the UK, I don’t think we get enough hot or hottish days to justify building it.

Apart from this, I don’t have the space to mount one on the roof of my house, and I won’t have a water tank any more after the imminent conversion my central heating to a combi-boiler pressurised system.

After reading the PDF, I went ot look at the “poormansguides.net” website to find that it doesn’t exist anymore (well it does, but not as a DIY style site!!), so I decided to offer it as a download on here. So, if you fancy a go at solar water heating, download the DIY Solar Water Batch Heater instructions here.

Disclaimer: I don’t take any credit for the information contained in the PDF, and if the author, Richard Lewis should read this, I have only included it because I think that it’s a shame that the website it came from is gone, and if he objects to me offering it as a download, contact me and I will remove it.

Have fun,

Alan G6RBM

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Filed under: Renewable Green Energy

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