A tubular skylight, or solar tube, is a device which can provide natural light for rooms that don’t have windows. What it does is to collect sunlight on the roof and bring it into the room using a reflective tube. This is ideal for dark kitchens, hallways, and bathrooms.
So you’re contemplating on installing a solar power system at [...]
A parabolic trough is used to reflect direct solar radiation towards a pipe that contains a receiver fluid which runs through the trough. You can make a DIY solar heating parabolic trough for your home. It can be used as a solar cooker, or a way to heat your water supply.
An MTD (modified trickle down) solar heating system is a good DIY project because it uses less expensive materials, and because of its simplicity to build. It heats water directly, instead of using absorber plates or flow tubes. It uses the same concept as Harry E. Thompson’s Trickle Down Solar Roof. With a MTD solar heating system, an array of MTD collectors forms a single solar roof.
It would be nice to be able to charge your batteries charge without using any conventional electrical chargers. Well, Knut Karlsen did just that. His homemade solar batteries are made out of normal rechargeable batteries, with built-in solar cells. All you need to do is to leave the batteries under the sun, and they will slowly regain energy.
A do-it-yourself solar oven is a simple way an average person can harness the sun’s energy for everyday use. It is inexpensive, and can be completed in a few hours.
The best way to cool your home is to avoid [...]