How to Use Your Roof As a Solar Space Heater

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Access the roof space of your house and make sure that your roof has an insulation membrane under the roofing sheets.

   Use a hand tacker staple gun to neatly secure the insulation to the purlins along the whole length of the ridge. ,,, The air between the roof sheeting and the insulation will be heated by the radiation of the sun.It will rise toward this header and collect there. ,( if you intend to use a six inch ducted fan then you should use a matching 6 inch duct) Fix it to the underside of the purlins.
   
   Seal to the foil using silicone or similar product , making sure that the portion of foil directly under outlet is removed to allow the heated air to flow from the duct. ,, This will prevent vibration from the fan if it becomes out of balance due to dust building up on its blades)and will insure quiet operation. ,, Secure the bulb to the purlin. ,,( you could use expanding foam or a proprietary profile seal.) ,, this how to will be amended to include this option.
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   Step 2: Locate the top two purlins either side of the roof ridge

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   Step 3: Now tidy up any excess insulation.

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   Step 4: When finished each side of the roof should now have insulation running from the gutter to the height of the top purlin.The space between the purlin should be open to the underside of the metal forming the ridge.

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   Step 5: Cut strips of insulation wide enough to fix across the underside of the top two purlins and long enough to run the length of the ridge.

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   Step 6: Fix this insulation to the underside of the top two purlins with your hand tacker

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   Step 7: thus forming a header between them.

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   Step 8: Near the center of the ridge fit a suitably sized duct outlet.

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   Step 9: Fit a ceiling duct outlet to the ceiling of the area you wish to heat.

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    Step 10: Fit a suitably sized ducted fan somewhere between the duct from the ridge and the duct to the ceiling.Best practice would entail suspending the fan from the roof structure using a heavy duty spring .

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    Step 11: Measure cut and fit two lengths of foil ducting.One to connect your ridge duct to the fan and one to connect the fan to the ceiling duct.

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    Step 12: Fit a thermostatic switch near the duct at the header and position the sensor bulb inside the header near the duct opening.

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    Step 13: Wire the fan to the thermostatic switch so that the fan will only run when the temperature of the air in the header

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    Step 14: exceeds the control temperature of the area to be heated.

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    Step 15: Move to the outside of the roof and seal any air gaps between the ridge of the roof and the roof sheeting profile.

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    Step 16: Your heater is ready to use at this stage and it will contribute many hours of free heat during days where the sun shines despite the air temp being cold.

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    Step 17: To really get most benefit the top meter or so of the ridge should be covered with a clear plastic cover.

Detailed Guide

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