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Cut and Pasted from another Thread(where Ben Nelson bemoans his cold Garage)-
About that Passive Solar garage...
Does your household consume a lot of soda? Start favoring cans over 2-liter bottles for awhile-or ask your neighbors to save theirs for you, uncrushed.
Use a Router or drill to cut 1" holes in the bottoms of each can. fasten together columns of cans (top opening to bottom opening)about 5 ft tall. Seal the top and bottom of each column. At the top of two columns cut holes in one side and join the columns together at the opening-at the bottom the second column bore a hole and match another column. Essentially you have a 5x5 radiator when you're done, closed off externally but joined internally with the interior looping in 'S' formation vertically:
[/\/\/\/\/\] (more or less).
Once you have the columns fastened into a radiator(Cold Weld,Epoxy or Fiberglass are all good for this)determine a Front position-bore a single 1" hole in the side of each can in the Bottom Front of your radiator. Now build a frame that fits the cans snugly-I used 2x4s and a plywood backing for mine, but you can get as fancy or as simple as you like. Paint or stain the frame to weatherproof it, then line the inside with foil. Paint the Radiator black, let dry, insert over the foil and fasten a sheet of glass on the top.
Open up a 2" hole in the bottom of the frame and fasten a short PVC (Inflow pipe) either leaving the pipe open or adding a fancy one-way valve for efficiency(mine just uses a mesh covering). Insert another pipe (Outflow) at the top of the frame. Place the box somewhere sunny-if this isn't directly against the outer garage wall make sure to wrap the Outflow pipe.
As soon as the sun heats the Box the hot air will rise and be trapped inside the top of the radiator, be pushed out the bottom holes by more rising air and float out of the Outflow pipe. To maximize the efficiency of the airflow you will want to place a tiny, cheap fan either at the Inflow pipe pulling or the Outflow pipe pushing-a PV powered microfan would be perfect for this, though I used a replaceable Dollar Tree fan for mine. Find an entry point from the Outflow pipe to the garage and you're done...estimated costs will be from $0 to $50 or so depending on how much you have lying around, and a few hours of work broken by a few hours of watching paint dry. When Summer hits, cover the Box with a tarp and place a cap on your Outflow pipe.
Compared to your EV work this is child's play. This design is by no means original, credit goes to, er, whichever Poster on whatever Forum I was reading at the time....
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