How to Heat My Sun Porch with Solar Panels

Solar electric panels and solar water panels are the two kinds of solar panels. A solar electric panel consists of silicon chips that convert sunlight into electricity. A solar water panel is made of pipes that circulate water or a glycol solution that captures the sun's heat and transports it into a home. Solar electric panels are not practical for heating purposes, but solar water panels can provide a large portion of a home's heating needs, especially in a climate with sunny, cold winters. They can be used to heat a sun porch, too.

Solar water panels with bases
Lag bolts
Drill
Wrenches
Roofing tar
Concrete
Circulating pipes
Plumbing pipes
Plumbing tools
Plumbing materials
Glycol antifreeze solution (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Mount solar water heating panels on the south-facing part of your home's roof. Secure the bases for the panels onto the roof with lag bolts, and apply roofing tar to components that pass through roofing material to avoid creating leaks.
- 2
  Pour a concrete slab in the floor of your sun porch, and install circulating pipes in the concrete. Suspend the pipes in the middle of the slab's vertical dimension so they can warm the slab evenly.
- 3
  Connect the rooftop's solar water panels to the pipes in the concrete slab. That task requires running plumbing pipes through the roof and attaching them to the location where the circulating pipes exit the slab.
- 4
  Fill the solar heating system with water. If your area experiences below freezing temperatures, use a glycol antifreeze solution so that the liquid won't freeze in the panels.

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