The following cases are working examples of our panels in a variety of settings and configurations. As a benchmark, these installations were documented on clear or on less than 10% cloud cover days. This page will continue as a work in progress while we add more, selected examples of how our panels work for their owners.
References available on request.
SolarSheat, Triple 2-Pak Farm Storage, Port Williams
These 2-Paks will help to keep the air in this vegetable storage facility at a constant temperature, starting in October. With a good south face (only way to go!), this installation will be saving considerable $$$ in heating costs over the next 20+ years. On a mid-Oct day, 10:30am w/clear sky, our output (for each @ high speed setting) was 151.5F/66.5C where the supply from the room was 64.7F/18.3C. Outside temp was close to 9C.
SolarSheat 2-Pak Bungalow, Fall River
Innovation was required here to maximize the solar gain within a limited wall space on this traditional bungalow. The intake is in the basement while the output is via the attic and into the kitchen ceiling using an in-line fan - not only producing heat but adding to the air circulation in the home. The combined panels are 14.5 feet high as shown and face almost true solar south.
With an outside air temp of -2C, the 2-Pak is producing heated air of at least 60C at solar noon in early February. The panels are yielding warm air well into late afternoon, shutting down around 4:45 p.m., keeping the furnace off for a kitchen-living area of 700 sq. ft. (8' ceiling). These temperatures are not surprising given that the air is moving through almost 50 sq. feet of solar panels.
SolarSheat 1000G Our Showroom
We continue to be impressed with these panels and how long into the day they will produce heat. At 4 p.m. with an outside temp of -6ºC, this panel is producing warmed air at 33ºC (91F) on a clear, January day. Mounted horizontally, the panel faces SSW @ approx. 30º off true (solar) south and takes up only a 144cm X 110cm (57" X 43") space.
The 1000G is the smallest Solarsheat and comes with a self-powered fan c/o a 14 watt photo-voltaic (PV) panel. This unit is best suited to smaller rooms in the 200 - 250 sq. ft. range.
SolarSheat 2-Pak Dartmouth, 2 Storey
With heat outputs to date as high as 62ºC, this Solarsheat 2-Pak from Your Solar Home is maintaining comfortable living temperatures of 20°C in a dining-kitchen area of about 300 sq. ft. plus additional space on the main floor. Note that the 2-Pak is driven by a solar powered fan, ensuring that as long as the sun shines, this homeowner will enjoy a heated space, even if the main power to the home is off.
With January outside temperatures of -20ºC, this unit is coming on around 9 a.m. and keeping the furnace off in this zone of the home. Typically, a 2-Pak will heat areas up to 1000 sq. ft., depending on factors such as ceiling height, air migration, and window exposure.
As a garage/workshop, the owner was looking to raise the temperature to an acceptable level without installing a major heat appliance or system. On a typical sunny day, the Solarsheat 1500GS is now raising the temp of the 676 ft² garage from 5C to 15C via a 100CFM+, DC fan.
Note that the garage has a 12' ceiling and that, even with vehicles coming and going, the temperature is being maintained when the outside temp is around -5C.
SolarSheat 1500GS Halifax, Back Split
This unique install is moving heated air from an upper bedroom to a family room/kitchen area beneath, adding to improved air circulation as well as heating a dedicated space of about 400 sq. ft. within the home. The unit, with a SSE face, is able to maintain a temperature of 20C during most of a sunny day in an elongated living space which has considerable window exposure.
The Solarsheat is considered a supplemental space heater, keeping the furnace off in this zone of the home through about 2-3 hours on either side of solar noon. Note: This install experiences some shading in Dec-Jan which limits performance. No shading would produce even better numbers!
PERFORMANCE UPDATE: January 22, 2012 outside temp of -7C, this unit is putting out heated air at 47C (117F) at 12 noon (intake temp 16C). Conditions: clear sky, no cloud cover.
Mid-March, clear day: At 7:45am, this unit is already heating up and pushing warm air into the home at 37C (outside temp -2C). By 11am, the output temp had climbed to 50C. One of the main beneifits of the SolarSheat is the contribution made to the home's heating requirements at the beginning and end of the heating season, keeping the primary unit turned off.
SunMate Our Showroom
Early January and with an outside temp of -13°C, this panel was producing heated air for our showroom at 42°C at solar noon. The air going into the panel was 19°C accounting for a rise of 23 degrees - subsequently being blown in at about 80 CFM by the built-in, 12V DC fan. As of mid-March, we have registered highs of 56C coming back into the showroom.
As this is a large showroom with a cathedral ceiling, the actual heat gain for the building is difficult to measure. If this panel was in a home with an 8' ceiling and up-to-date insulation/sealing, this panel should be good to maintain 20°C or better for 400-500 sq. ft.
The panel will typically come on about 1.5 hr after sunrise with a start up temperature of around 27°C and would normally remain on until about 1.5 hr before sunset, assuming ideal conditions. (Note: This showroom install has a south-easterly alignment, so does not capture late day sun.) Sunmate available c/o special order.
SolarSheat 1000G Dartmouth Townhouse
Warming an upper area of about 200 sq. ft., this 1000G is pushing out air in the 30C range late in the afternoon at about 90 CFM. Cloud cover was about 4/10ths with an outside temp of about 3C. Higher temperatures can be expected on a clearer day and closer to solar noon. The 1000G is powered by a built-in, photo-voltaic fan.
Creative Solar 63 McQuade Lake Crescent, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3S 1C4 Tel. 902-446-8161, Fax. 902-455-1522 E. info@creativesolar.ca
