heat collector panels.

Home built thermal collector panels. Notice the screen collector won and the can panel came in last. In the food for thought category.

http://stonehavenlife.com/comparing-solar-air-heater-designs-performance/

I find hot air heating is much less effective and cozy than any form of radiant heat such as radiators or thermal mass.

If you've got sun exposure on your building it is much less effective to try to collect warm air and pump it into the living space. We tried it for a space that was in the northern part of our building, with a solar air heater on the roof blowing down a pipe to floor level in the room, but it really made no improvement in the comfort of the room whatsoever. The southern rooms with their passive solar heating and simple thermal mass are just head and shoulders above solar hot air in terms of comfort, both day and night.

Rebecca Norman wrote:I find hot air heating is much less effective and cozy than any form of radiant heat such as radiators or thermal mass.

If you've got sun exposure on your building it is much less effective to try to collect warm air and pump it into the living space. We tried it for a space that was in the northern part of our building, with a solar air heater on the roof blowing down a pipe to floor level in the room, but it really made no improvement in the comfort of the room whatsoever. The southern rooms with their passive solar heating and simple thermal mass are just head and shoulders above solar hot air in terms of comfort, both day and night.

I fully agree that passive solar into mass is best. I posted the link because I found it interesting what material they thought was the best for collectors. The screen collectors would be great for those building solar dehydrators because bug proofing is built in and window screen is comparatively cheap compared to many of the plate things people have been suggesting.

Ah, for dehydrators, yes, hot air is good!