By Eric Doub, Ecofutures Founder & CEO
We recently got an inquiry from an Ecofutures fan in Maine about the topic of solar heat sinks. We’ve received many similar inquiries through the years, so I thought I’d write a post about it. As anyone knows, Colorado’s climate is different than most other areas of the U.S. We enjoy 300 days of sun per year on average. In places like Maine, that average is only about 200. That means roughly half the year the sun is hidden behind clouds. Therefore, relying on the sun to heat water in a storage tank for Colorado’s occasional cloudy cold snaps like we do in our homes doesn’t make as much sense.
Rather, what I’d recommend is looking into geo solar options like large sand beds under the house. An article we found written by Don Stephens, InA (www.greenershelter.org) explains annualized geo solar heating for temperate climates very well.
