You can extend your growing season by planting your vegetables and plants in a greenhouse. However, sometimes you will need to heat the air in the greenhouse too, especially in colder climates. This diy greenhouse soda can solar thermal heater will get the job done for you.
Not only do you get to re-use soda or beer cans, you also use the free energy from the sun. The size of the solar heater can be adjusted to work with any size greenhouse. Total cost of materials is less than $55.00
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Here’s What You’ll Need:
- plexiglass
- bilge pump hose
- flat black spray paint
- utility knife
- elbow tubes
- duct tape
- poly panel
- liquid nails
- silicone sealant
- caulking gun
- rubber glove
- hand drill & large bit
- aluminum foil
The most difficult part of this project will be preparing your aluminum cans. Gary used 20 cans to build his solar heater for his small greenhouse. Each one needs a hole on the bottom, which you can make with a large drill bit.
How does it work? The cool air will flow through the bottom of the solar heater and then rises up through the cans which are the heated by sun, and hot air will come out the top of the heater. This heater can heat air up to temperatures of 40 to 140 degrees F on a 30 degrees F morning.
You can follow step by step instructions on The Rusted Garden blog, here…
DIY Greenhouse Soda Can Solar Heater
You can watch the video below, how to make soda can solar heater...
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