An interesting solar air heating collector design to come up recently is made from ordinary aluminum gutter downspouts.
Build a solar heater out of rain gutters.
The downspouts are laid out side by side to from the collector absorber.
Build it solar will help people with do it yourself skills build solar projects that save money and reduce pollution.
If you are experiencing ice dams it may be a ventilation and insulation issue within your home.
Homeowners may think that zig zag cables on the roof and heated gutters are effective at preventing ice dams however this is not the case.
As you can see ice dams are an internal heat loss.
Solar to power heated roof and gutter tape.
It is a hands on site with detailed plans for solar projects including solar space heating water heating passive solar home design solar pool heating solar cooking photovoltiacs wind generators and others.
Performance test of a solar air heating collector using an aluminum downspout absorber this is a side by side heating performance test comparing a solar air heating collector that uses aluminum gutter downspouts for the absorber to a collector that uses two layers of black screen for the collector.
As you can see ice dams are an internal heat loss problem.
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A good long term solution would be to hire a reputable contractor to fix the problem with the building as eaves should not ice up in any climate.
Diy solar air heater videos are a big hit on youtube with a couple of main staple ideas recycled pop can solar collectors downspout solar collectors screen or sheet metal solar collectors.
If you don t have it in you to make one yourself solar air heaters for sale are also available online for purchase with a bit of internet digging.
Temperatures drop below freezing and the snow melt refreezes causing an ice dam.
Right now there s snow on my roof and it s warm as toast inside.
Nothing melting down the edges no ice forming on the eaves.
Snow begins to melt from solar heat and heat loss from your home melted snow runs down to the surface of the roof settling along overhands and gutter lines.
The downspouts are all connected to air supply and return plenums run along the top and bottom of the collector.