Small solar panel to help heat a shed

[Rob_B]

I've been working from home (my shed) since covid hit and wondered if popping a small solar panel on the roof (south facing) to some sort of heater could be a possibility, even a couple of hundred watts could potentially help (depending on setup cost of course)

This is a long shot/not feasible I know

I'm insulated up as far as is possible but running an oil heater will be ~£7 per day so I'm looking for alternatives, winter in Scotland is well known for a lot of sunshine in daytime hours yeah?...

[cptwhite_uk]

It's an interesting question - we have our guinea pigs in the summerhouse, with a total of 5 glass panels, and only 28mm timbers without insulation. I suspect it's going to get cold in the winter. We had them in the shed last winter with a 500W electric heater during the night, but that was adding about £100 to the monthly electric bill, not feasible to put it on cost wise given the price rises. A solar powered heater sounds unrealistic but it would be good to work out if it's feasible.

[Rob_B]

I was wondering how hacky it could get before becoming dangerous.

A panel that could feed a USB power bank that then feeds those USB inserts that are meant to be sewn into clothes (but I'd have them nearby on the wall or floor maybe) could provide a small and potentially (?) noticeable amount of heat (?)

This sort of thing https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363068756859

[kalniel]

Paint the shed black?

[Rob_B]

Oooh, a mini wind turbine might be a better idea in Scotland, I'm going to get googling!

[Hoonigan]

Oooh, a mini wind turbine might be a better idea in Scotland, I'm going to get googling!

Especially if you live in the west of Scotland, it's constantly windy here near Glasgow!

[ik9000]

To be fair it's windy around Edinburgh too with all the hot air sturgeon keeps spouting

[jimbouk]

Would an IR heater that heats you rather than the room be suitable? An ex-colleague had one of these in his shed office before working from home was cool.

Any solar panel / wind turbine will obviously help with the electricity generation, but they struggle to pay for themselves as the feedback tariffs aren't great any more and usage and generation time don't always line up. Local energy storage is the solution for that but obviously expensive again for electricity, which brings me onto the alternative...

Hot water panels? Could you have a little hot water tank, pump & radiator. The tank would work as the energy store when you aren't running it. Might be quite expensive to put it all together though, and a backup water heater in the tank might be needed if you've not seen daylight for a while...

Thermals?

[Rob_B]

I'd considered Irby the heat just "goes away", at least the oil radiator warns the space up long term.

I know this is a long shot and the answer is probably to get some long johns but I do like gadgets

[Kumagoro]

How have you insulated the shed? you can get thin Celotex/Kingspan, or similar boards, which you could put in-between the battens and then cover with plywood.

[Rob_B]

40mm Celotex (deepest I could use that left an air gap) then OSB on top.
10mm gym mats on the ply floor + carpet on top.
DIY "Double glazed" acrylic on the windows.
One door covered in gym mats then boarded over with OSB
Main door is the worst part, gaps around hinges and I've used foam to try and fix that but a combination of wear&tear + chickens having a weird fascination with eating it means there are a few gaps I need to fill for winter.

[Ttaskmaster]

I'm insulated up as far as is possible but running an oil heater will be ~£7 per day so I'm looking for alternatives

Can you not run it on used frying oil from the local chippy?
Filter out all the bits of deep-fried Mars Bar™ and job's a good'un, no?

[Rob_B]

.. Or sew together all of the spare pelts from when we go haggis hunting into a onesie?

[j1979]

If its for heating then solar vacuum tubes might be better . something like this plumbed into a radiator would be much more efficient for heat.


www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004069250641.html

[Rob_B]

I gave up on the idea as it was just too costly for little benefit

[MrJim]

I've only just seen this thread. I've not been online much recently because I've been ill & in bed (nothing serious, thankfully).

I thought I'd draw your attention to a fantastic solar energy scheme that's operating in the area in which I live, called 'Solar Together'. Now, I know it's only valid for certain areas, but if you're fortunate, it might be available in your area. And even if it's not, it might be available in the near future, or if not that, it might be worth contacting your local authority and asking them to introduce a similar scheme.

I don't think the Government are still offering a subsidy for solar panel installations still, and the 'Solar Together' scheme is not a subsidy as such either. What my local authority (St Albans) have done, is to ask anyone in the St Albans area who's interested, to register with them. Once the closing date has passed, the local authority get larger, established companies who install solar cells to bid for the contract of installing a solar system on your roof, with the idea being that economies of scale cause the installation cost to reduce the cost per person, depending on how many other people in your area sign up. Obviously, you have to go through a site survey to check that your roof is orientated in an optimal direction, but the purpose of the scheme is to give people who might not otherwise be able to afford it, the opportunity to get solar panels and minimize the costs for everyone involved. Here's link to the St Albans 'Solar Together' website:

https://solartogether.co.uk/st-albans/home

It's a really simple idea, that I hope lots of other local authorities in the UK take up. Obviously, unless you're lucky enough to live in an area where such a scheme is running, you won't be able to take advantage of it, but as they say, knowledge is power!