The
Mother Earth News
folks have a strong interest in a solar air heating collector that works in conjunction with a regular window. This is based on the long term popularity of the "Heat Grabber" collector that MEN published a number of years back.
While the Heat Grabber has been popular and works well, it does suffer a bit from limited collection area and, also because it sticks out from the building, which does not fit some situations. So, the MEN folks are interested in anyone's ideas on how to improve the design.
The link below is my rough first prototype effort at a solar air heating collector that could be installed over a regular window.
The idea is to use the existing window to get air into and out of the collector. This avoids any need to cut holes in the wall for vents. It also makes it feasible to just install the collector over the winter. Some design "challenges" remain.
So, have a look, and if you have any ideas to improve this design or have an alternative design, please leave a comment, or email them in.
Details on the prototype over/around window collector...
The first cut prototype over/around window collector.
The air ducting and screen absorber for prototype collector.
Gary