Personal Project: Solar Home Heater

What it was: A DIY solar air heater I built for a garage using upcycled soda cans and a salvaged window, based on the "backpass solar collector" design used in passive solar heating.

What it covered:

• Building an insulated frame to house a grid of connected soda cans as the heat-absorbing core

• Painting the cans black to maximize solar absorption

• Mounting a repurposed window as glazing to trap heat, similar to a small greenhouse

• Installing a fan to actively pull cool air through the cans and push heated air into the garage

My role: I designed and built the entire system, applying passive solar heating principles to a low-cost, upcycled build.

Outcome: The heater demonstrated a working, low-cost application of solar thermal principles, turning sunlight into usable heat for my garage using almost entirely reclaimed materials.