When you look at a manufactured solar water heating system, it does not look like something your can build at home and actually have working properly. However, this diy $5 solar thermal panel water heater will prove you wrong. The water that it heats gets extremely hot in just a few minutes after direct sunlight.

Although you can go and buy the materials for this project, you can easily build your water heater with stuff from your local dump. The plan allows for many personal improvements to allow the system to be more efficient for you. Replacing some of the duct tape with caulk or more permanent fixtures will probably increase the lifespan of your system.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• Old Fridge Black Collector
• Wood from old couch
• Window Glass pane
• Rubber Mat
• Wood Screws Or Nails
• Aluminum Foil
• Air Pump Hose
• Duct Tape
• Caulk

Before you use the collector you will remove from the back of the fridge, make sure that it does not contain any coolant. Cut your doormat to a size that will allow it to provide a backing for the coil and the frame. Then you can build your frame using the wood from the couch.There are actually two frames, one in the front and on in the back.

A sheet of aluminum foil goes on top of the backing. it prevents the backing from heating up and reflects the heat back to the collector. Seal all the spaces with duct tape or caulk. The collector is attached to the backing using the same mounts it uses when on the back of a fridge. The glass is the last thing to go on the top.

You can follow step by step instructions on the The Sietch blog, here…

DIY Solar Thermal Panel Heater Plans

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