I can add that black barrels filled with water in a greenhouse can keep ambient night temps up when the night air is around 10 degrees F outside.
I have often thought of using old AC coils and a very small fountain pump to create a forced air unit as an atempt to amplify the effect.
The stored heat in the barrels will keep the greenhouse around 50-55 degrees on a 10 degree night. Just enough to keep the produce coming.
Just some food for thought.
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The heat capacity of water is high, but not necessarily preferable to using structural elements like thick walls, etc. which have no moving parts. Similarly, just putting water columns inside walls instead of using separate tanks and pumping has been used. Where water really shines is in the specific heats of vaporization and freezing, but neither of these seem to be of any use in a solar heating application.Leave a comment:
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Combining water with a solar heater.
I was wondering if anyone has used the high specific heat of water to try and aid in heat conservation in a solar furnace.
My thought was to create a deeper insulated box and and put water tanks, or two liter bottles of water, behind the cans/corrugated sheet metal, so that it would be heated during the day making it more efficient and hold some of the heat for a bit after the sun goes down.
It may require antifreeze/ more insulation in colder climates.
I'm planning on building a solar furnace soon and I am new to this. I would appreciate any thoughts of pros and cons of this idea. Thanks.
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