Simple Solar Heating for RVs

Having lived full-time in an RV for several years now, my "green" side tends to run wild at times yielding some interesting results. With the economy just totally sucking the way it does, and so many people ending up living in campers "not by choice", some of these quirky projects from my past may be invaluable. This will be the first of a series of posts where I share some of these projects.

For those of you living in a location that receives cold winters, this project might prove invaluable. It saved me hundreds of dollars in heating costs while living in central New Hampshire, and only cost less than $50 to set up!

Firstly, here's an animated gif that demonstrates simple passive solar heating. With just a basic understanding of how this works, you'll probably find yourself coming up with some pretty cool ideas on how to harness the power of the sun. Keep in mind that the amount of heat generated when sunlight hits black collector plates is substantial - up to 800 or even 1200 BTUs per square foot! That easily translated to air temperatures of 50 to 100 degrees warmer coming out of the heater than the air that goes in.

I tried various ideas, from what I called a "solar curtain" hung in my kitchen window to various simple window collectors made from old cardboard boxes spray painted black. They certainly worked, and worked well, but I knew I could do better. Plus, all the projects I had been trying would just recycle the stale indoor air. You see, I smoke cigarettes and absolutely refuse to "smoke outside" in the middle of a New Hampshire winter. I wanted a way to pipe in heated fresh air from outside.

The solution was to set up some solar collectors on the outside of my camper, one on each south-facing window. To ensure the temperature of the air coming in to the camper was good and hot, I used 12V computer fans (hooked into my RV's 12V system of course) to blow the air in through the window when a thermostat registers high enough temperatures.


The "collector plates" were simply thin sheets of wood, painted black and taped to the side of my camper. I used 1x2 lumber to create a simple frame for securing the clear plastic (.7 mil). The cold outside air entered through the bottom of the collector and heated up against the black collector plates. The heated air naturally rose to the top of the collector, where it was then blown inside by a computer fan.

Outside air temperatures were around 30 degrees on the day I took these photos. By 3:30pm, the temperatures inside the collector were over 110 degrees and the temperature of the air blowing into the camper was about 87 degrees.

Kitchen window collector
Fan is not in operation (note plastic flap)

Bedroom window collector
Fan in operation

Thermostat in operation
At 80* and above, the thermostat
sends 12V power to the fans

Air temperatures in operation
Numbers top to bottom:
temp of air blowing in, temp inside
the collector and humidity

A cheap programmable thermostat, set to the "cool" mode, monitored the air temperature inside the collector. When the temp was above my setting of 80 degrees, it sent power, as though it were turning on the AC, to the computer fans. When the air inside the collector cooled down, either because the sun was beginning to set or it had gone behind clouds, the thermostat stopped sending power and the fans shut off.

Like I said, this system saved me hundreds of dollars in heating costs over the course of that one winter, and the total cost to set it up was less than $50. There were problems with the system, of course: on windy nights, cold air would often sneak through creating drafts. Overall, though, this system was a huge success.

Watch for my post about a makeshift "sun room" made from plastic and electrical conduit that ended up saving me over a thousand dollars AND provided fresh greens all winter!

Those Damn Web Bots...Again and Again...

Thought I'd put a little bit up on the progress of the web bot predictions and how things have come to play out since the last update I posted, Latest Updates from Web Bots and Assange's Plan B. In that post I noted firstly the imminent "dam" near-disaster, related to it "nearly collapsing" or "scooting off its base", and being caught in the nick of time by "sharp eyes". As we know, just days later, 4,500 people were evacuated as water began seeping under the large dirt levy that held back the massive flood waters. Not quite a dam, per say, but it might as well have been.

Moving forward, I hadn't actually posted anything about the update Clif posted on January 4th about [logical frank] and the [testing] of [the Irish] [face]. In this update, stressing was done about the importance of the temporal marker nature of the "wild colleen" meme and the appearance of the "logical Frank" meme, along with the little red book. On this "logical Frank", Clif writes:

the [logical Frank] would have a [direct] and [leading] role relative to the [great global awakening] a2bka (also to be known as) from the point of view of the ThePowersThatWere, the 'great revolution'...It is the [great global awakening] that will define the underlying emotional 'tone' of this year, 2011. From our work, the data seems to be forecasting 2011 as a year of some significance, that is to say, a year of recognized, and fundamental, change.

He goes on to write that the linguistics specifically point to the period as being seen, from a future perspective looking back, as "monumental", though through our eyes as it unfolds as "epic".

The real key to all of this becomes "the Irish" being somehow "tested". Specifically, the "face" of "the Irish". This should take shape as we approach summer and be apparent around midsummer and heading out toward this fall, but I think we might get a serious taste of this in the next few weeks as things continue unfolding in this "global revolution" already well underway. For those of you living under a rock - yes, UNDERWAY. UNDERWAY, UNDERWAY, and UNDERWAY.

Of course, this started with protests in Tunisia on January 6th and 7th that led to the total revolt and ousting of government by the 14th.

Clif goes on to state that a woman will be the center of this "Irish face". Go figure. As I looked over the current US Saturn return, I picked up on a possible woman (signified by Venus with Neptune conjuncting the US natal Moon) being at the center of some controversy, and thus coming into the spotlight, occurring toward the end of March. I can't help but think this may be the time period where the final "wild Colleen" herself, acting as the "face" of "the Irish", comes into the spotlight. I mean, honestly, with astrology we see markers...get a general idea of things...and the general idea is that some form of political dissent will be brought forth over human rights issues, and these are tied inextricably with the "melting pot" and personal freedom loving natures of that US natal Moon. This is a unique marker in the progress of the US Saturn return and seems to point to a significant shifting on what we Americans think about over the next 7 to 14 years. If I'm right, the first signs of this would show up around February 14th in what could become called the "Valentine's Day Protests", as the Sun, Mercury and Mars transit this point.

This Saturn return is about a national face lift here in the US, but it has significant international ramifications as it's painfully clear that the spirit of the US is no longer confined to our tiny quadrant of the world. The "American Dream" has spread throughout the world and, in a very real sense, the fate of the world is directly tied to challenges we face in the US. Will we all come together in a great global protest against un-American ideals, or will we, the American's, take a back seat and let the rest of the world achieve what we once upon a time achieved, letting our own domestic situation degrade into what they face today? I suppose we'll find out soon.