002 Near the end of 2016 I began erecting a base upon my two axle trailer in our back yard . This was the start of building a " green house " wherein I could test and experiment with materials , including insulations , and observe what solar radiation through south facing windows would do if this were a home or office or manufacturing plant .
Beginning spring 2017 as funding became available , I erected walls , added windows and doors plus a temporary roof . As fall approached the partial erection of a large solar thermal panel was added on the south wall .
The structure box was aimed so that one side wall faced toward due south . Soon I realized that early morning solar rays were much weaker than those later in the day as the sun rose . I then moved the trailer so that the south wall faced 15 degrees to the west of due south . This allowed solar energy to pass through the large south facing windows for about an extra hour every day . That's like getting an extra 7 hours of free energy a week for about 48 sunny weeks a year . Equal to 336 extra days of free heat . Note: Less sunny hours equals less free heat .
Eventually I bought several bales of Fiberglass Pink insulation and installed that in the ceiling and some into each of the four walls . I left some between stud areas with no insulation and others with crumpled newsprint ( cellouse ) . Subsequent monitoring over many days showed that Pink was no good at all when the outside was below freezing . Crumpled paper was a little bit better . And wall spaces between studs that were sealed air only was best of all .
Later I installed a foil covered thin bubble wrap over one inside wall but haven't had opportunity to measure the effect on inside heat retention .
Having been inside a real green house and a nearby home using this reflective foil I am sure it works well . I'll measure the effect later . The real greenhouse has no outside heat source all winter. It gets cool but doesn't freeze . The plant soil absorbs heat during sunny hours and gives off heat when needed . By itself the R value isn't much but it reflects 97% of heat energy back into the room . It doesn't allow much heat to bleed through to the cold outside .
Some foam sheet insulation was installed over the outside plywood wall . And some inside . It has an R rating of R5 per inch . I can measure some value but not a lot . On windy days / nights it will keep the wind from sucking heat out through the walls .
The floor is plywood sheet which will have Pex pipe installed over it then another layer of plywood . The pipe will be filled with a water /antifreeze mixture and be partially heated by the sun . Several kinds of heat source will be tested to bring the in-floor mixture up to about 30C degrees .
Later this year 2018 I'll install a solar PV panel(s) to charge 12 Volt DC batteries which will power the LED lights , power two water pumps , and heat floor water mix as surplus electric power is available . More on this later .
Beginning spring 2017 as funding became available , I erected walls , added windows and doors plus a temporary roof . As fall approached the partial erection of a large solar thermal panel was added on the south wall .
The structure box was aimed so that one side wall faced toward due south . Soon I realized that early morning solar rays were much weaker than those later in the day as the sun rose . I then moved the trailer so that the south wall faced 15 degrees to the west of due south . This allowed solar energy to pass through the large south facing windows for about an extra hour every day . That's like getting an extra 7 hours of free energy a week for about 48 sunny weeks a year . Equal to 336 extra days of free heat . Note: Less sunny hours equals less free heat .
Eventually I bought several bales of Fiberglass Pink insulation and installed that in the ceiling and some into each of the four walls . I left some between stud areas with no insulation and others with crumpled newsprint ( cellouse ) . Subsequent monitoring over many days showed that Pink was no good at all when the outside was below freezing . Crumpled paper was a little bit better . And wall spaces between studs that were sealed air only was best of all .
Later I installed a foil covered thin bubble wrap over one inside wall but haven't had opportunity to measure the effect on inside heat retention .
Having been inside a real green house and a nearby home using this reflective foil I am sure it works well . I'll measure the effect later . The real greenhouse has no outside heat source all winter. It gets cool but doesn't freeze . The plant soil absorbs heat during sunny hours and gives off heat when needed . By itself the R value isn't much but it reflects 97% of heat energy back into the room . It doesn't allow much heat to bleed through to the cold outside .
Some foam sheet insulation was installed over the outside plywood wall . And some inside . It has an R rating of R5 per inch . I can measure some value but not a lot . On windy days / nights it will keep the wind from sucking heat out through the walls .
The floor is plywood sheet which will have Pex pipe installed over it then another layer of plywood . The pipe will be filled with a water /antifreeze mixture and be partially heated by the sun . Several kinds of heat source will be tested to bring the in-floor mixture up to about 30C degrees .
Later this year 2018 I'll install a solar PV panel(s) to charge 12 Volt DC batteries which will power the LED lights , power two water pumps , and heat floor water mix as surplus electric power is available . More on this later .
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