Unquestionably Confused wrote:
| Morris Dovey, wrote the following at or about 6/7/2007 5:27 PM:
|| THOMAS CLEVELAND wrote:
||| Hello
||| I'm building a new but small shop, it will be 8' X 10' how ever
||| living in the north east it will get cold up here, it will be
||| insulated, tyvec wrapped and sided, have ac for the summer, but
||| need heat for the winter, I saw and like the "Hot Dog" heaters
||| that hang from the ceiling and run on propane, any input will be
||| gladly welcomed.
||
|| You might find the link below of interest - a somewhat larger shop
|| in my area that's solar heated.
|
| Morris, forgive me for asking if you've explained this previously
| but what's the square footage of that shop, the ceiling height and
| what do you consider to be a "comfortable daytime temperature" in
| the winter months for that particular application?

That shop is 30' x 40' - so floor space will be a bit less than 1200
sq ft. A comfortable daytime temperature is anything in excess of 72F.
If there's a run of especially sunny days, the owner will probably
need to open windows during the day to keep the temperature in the
70's.

| Also, that makeup heater looks to be just a tad bigger than the one
| I have. What is it, about a 7500 watt?

I don't remember - I think he told me that it's a 20kBtu heater. Food
for thought: in the solar context, his ceiling fan will be even more
important than his unit heater.

| That is just such a great looking installation and shop area and to
| think, once installed and paid for, it's nearly maintenance free and
| starts paying back immediately.
|
| Were I building/rebuilding my shop, we'd be talking for sureg.

Always glad to do that - on the other hand, one of the purposes of
that web page is to demonstrate the total absence of magic. On the
third hand, there's more to the design than meets the eye. g

If you're inclined to go the DIY route, there're links on the DeSoto
Solar home page that provide some essential "getting started"
information. (Some of the info is specific to the USA, and I'd be
pleased to be able to make the same information available for other
parts of the world.)

| Great work!

Thanks. It's interesting to wrestle with the trade-offs to deliver a
maximum of heat for a minimum of cost - in a panel intended to serve
for the lifetime of the structure. These panels were the best I'd ever
produced - but provided info leading to _three_ low-cost design
improvements that'll make these inferior to all my future panels.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/SC_Madison.html