“I visited a friend’s house with a unique take on solar air heating. He coins his invention the Solar Coffin. This device heats air up to well over 100 degrees C within the “coffin” unit. The air is then moved under the slab of his house which stores the solar energy for release during the winter. This system is based on a system called annualized geo-solar developed in the US as a strategy to get off the heating grid.”
It’s called a hypocaust. I had the idea to heat the bathroom with a rocket heater piped in the shower walls and bathroom floor a la hypocaust.
This system seems kind of a good solution, but the mechanics aren’t really well discussed. I’m wondering if this is just a simplified Ancient Roman Baths heating system (sorry I could describe the system, but the technical name escapes me at the moment)
I believe the Romans baths used heated water. The solar coffin uses heated air.
Oh sorry I should have been clear about my statement. I meant the mechanics of the system, and not the heated air portion of the system. In the Roman Bath system the fire that was used to heat the water was channeled underneath the floor and up some channels in the bath walls. The heated air seems to be used in a similar fashion, but the methods of heating the air is different.
Though I could be wrong about how this system works, which is why I was wondering about how the heat was distributed throughout the house. It would seem that venting the heated air through a single vent would be a less efficient way verses the channeled system used by the Romans.
This sounds very interesting. where can I get more information. I am planning my first earthbag home and looking into passive heating designs to use. Thanks for posting!
I don’t know of any additional information. Show it to some local builders and they could probably figure it out.
How can you install standing seam for solar heating? Fur out and duct in air at ridge??