Is Do It Yourself Solar Heat A Good Idea?

Is do it yourself solar heat actually possible for all of us. More and more people are asking this question as the cost of heating your home continues to rise.

There are 2 types of solar heating systems that you can build for your home. These are called active and passive solar. Active and passive solar offer challenges to you if you want to do it yourself solar heat that you need to consider. Here are a few of those.

First of all you need basic construction skills to build and install solar panels if you are going to do an active solar system. This may not appeal even to the most adventurous home improvement do it yourself person. Active solar takes heat collected in a solar panel and uses it to heat your home or hot water.

Because of how complicated these types of systems can get you should not undertake installing an active solar yourself. Installing panels on a roof and piping from the panel to a storage tank is not for everyone. Even if you have a plumbing background you may want to get bids on having a contractor do the work for you.

Also active solar systems offer federal and state rebates and tax savings that will bring your net cost down even more. You are talking about your home here and it is to your benefit to hire a professional and enjoy your time off away from this project.

Passive solar does not have any tax savings or rebates so this is the place for you to start your do it yourself solar project. Every home produces passive heat that enters the home from the south side of the structure. Passive solar rooms that create a green house effect can be added to the south side of your home to add heat even in the winter.

The key being how you position the room to take the maximum advantage of the number of hours the sun is hitting it. Passive solar in many applications does not require solar panels and you can still reap a huge benefit in lowering the cost of heating your home.

Of course with passive solar you are not heating water and saving it for when you need it. There are trade offs, but if you really want to do it yourself solar heat. Then passive solar is the way to go for this type of project.