Heat Panels and sliding windows

[theshadownose]

Hi,
I have a 2 story house in Omaha NE.   My kids rooms are in the south west corner, 2nd floor.  It appears that the duct-work to their rooms sucks.  The air coming from the ducts is 25 degrees F off from rest of the house-  colder in winter, hotter is summer.
Ducts are not in attic, ,  though output is near outside wall.

I would like to use a heat panel to supplement heat in winter.   I found free low-E glass (YEA Craigslist!)
I am running into issue figuring how to work with windows-  they are not up/down windows, they are side-to-side.
Thinking I need to mount on side, next to window instead of under,  but not sure how to design panel to get air circulation, and how to avoid cold leaking in during night.

Any ideas?

Another slightly low tech idea-  I know that outside wall is not well insulated-  Is there any panel ideas that would just trap heat against the side of the house and let is leak in via conduction?  (would need to remove in summer, obviously)

[artv]

Hi Shadow ,....I'm not really sure what your trying to do??......Sounds like the runs that feed the bedroom (duct work) are too long or not big enough. What type of siding is on the house brick,stone, clapboard, viynl?.....If it's possible take off the siding ,resheet with that 1" foam board that has foil on both sides ,tape the joints and re-side......Insulation pays for itself over time....hope this helps.
artv

[MattM]

Don't remove it offseason. Instead design an overhang above it (like your existing eaves) that blocks the sun from hitting it during the hot months.  Insulating the outside wall is the most cost effective solution.  This solar thermal idea will pay off, too, but it's the lower priority IMHO.

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

My room for much of my childhood was on the SW corner.  HV(noAC) was a pain:  Cold in the morning, HOT in the afternoon, because the prevailing winds were from the WSW and the sun was on the room when it didn't need it (afternoon) and not when it needed it most (sunrise to midmorning).  Also the house was a ranch style with brickwork halfway up the side - which delayed the heatup/cooldown further.

I recall one afternoon when I was spraying with a hose and got some on the bricks.  It boiled.  Then dad told me not to do that any more because the shock could crack the decorative surfaces of the bricks.  The bricks had a surface that was like the edge of a slightly spread-out book, lots of very thin vertical edges with cracks between them - perfect for trapping infrared and reducing loss to the air by impeding airflow over the surface and especially down into the cracks.

If you're going to try to supplement a poorly heated/ventilated SW corner room, you'll need to put the panels sticking out at an angle to pick up heat in the morning and taper off in the afternoon.  The forced air system will not help correct this unless you move the thermostat into that room - which will foul up the rest of the house.  Also:  Give the kids extra blankets if you stick them with the wild-temperature room.

(The main downside to my mostly solar heated Nevada place on the high desert is that the big-glass-window prow is oriented to magnetic south, about 15 degrees west of geographic south.  For optimal heating it should be pointed about SE to pick up extra heat in the morning and lots less in the afternoon.  But that would give me a view of the neighbors, rather than the spectacular valley and mountains.  Lose a bit, win a lot.)

[theshadownose]

Hi Shadow ,....I'm not really sure what your trying to do??......Sounds like the runs that feed the bedroom (duct work) are too long or not big enough. What type of siding is on the house brick,stone, clapboard, viynl?.....If it's possible take off the siding ,resheet with that 1" foam board that has foil on both sides ,tape the joints and re-side......Insulation pays for itself over time....hope this helps.
artv

I agree that there is a duct issue-  The air FLOW is fine, the temperature is not.  I "assume"  that outside air is somehow reaching the duct and screwing up the temps.   I just can't figure out WHERE it is happening.

I agree that insulating is a great idea,  I am not sure that I am handy enough to deal with 14 year old siding-  Its standard, non-vinyl, wood composite siding.
If I recall correctly, it comes in 5 by 10 sheets.  I am sure in the next 5-10 years we will need to replace, in which case I will pay to insulate under it. 
I was hoping to supplement heating via solar in those 2 rooms.  There is enough mass the the house that if I can get those rooms up during the day that it should carry over most of the night.

I can build a heat panel- I have the glass, and can get either cans or metal sheeting to absorb the heat. I'm just not sure about DESIGN of the panel-  it can't attach to bottom of window- as side slider, only method I can see it next to window, so I am not sure how to get air to flow into and out of the panel.....

[Mary B]

Insulated duct work to a panel that closes in the window. Builditsolar.com has lots of designs that should give you ideas. If you look at my thread you will see I am using 3 inch dryer venting that will exit the back of the panel but no reason it couldn't be brought out the side and over to a window. Just insulate the heck out of it.