posted 13 hours ago
Instead of putting the bottled (or other moderate sized water containers) in the floor, place them up high, in a loft, supported by a bearing wall on a foundation, like the exterior wall between a sunspace or solar greenhouse, and the rest of the house. such a wall can easily support the weight. Warm air (from a sunspace, solar greenhouse, solar air heater, or even dark blinds at windows, that will intercept the sunlight and serve as a solar absorber) will then rise (passively) to warm the bottles, creating a thermal syphon loop. With the heat storage located above the living space it can get quite warm without overheating the living space. Then, when the house needs heat either a duct and fan, or even a ceiling fan can bring warm air down to living space level, so that you effectively have passive solar without needing the big heat loss through direct gain windows, and can even have thermostatic control, to avoid temperature swings.
- Retired designer of passive solar homes -