Just out of cuirousity would these be a bit of a pain in the summer...heating up the side of the house even more than normal and increasing the use of A/C or do you cover them up during the summer months ?

You can also find detailed instructions on how to build the solar heater on the Build It Solar site Build a Solar Heater for $350.

@rmulley: From what I understand, you can just seal up the flaps so the air doesn't circulate through.

This is an excellent DIY approach to the classic Trombe wall. Check out what wikipedia has to say about it,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombe_wall

or this site for another picture.

http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/T/AE_trombe_wall.html

As far as his heating claims, a properly designed Trombe wall definitely has the capacity to heat a space like that, and it looks like he has approached the evaluation of the system performance as a scientist and not a "proud father."

It would be interesting to know how long the polycarbonate panels last, even with the protective UV coating. Direct sunlight will really beat up these panels, significantly decreasing light transmission and making them brittle. Durable plastic glazing is actually a major hurdle in inexpensive solar design, and has been a topic of interest for solar research for years. This design, however, is a convenient and inexpensive alternative to glass, though replacing large plastic panels every few years (5yrs?10yrs?) might not be the greenest solution. But regardless, kudos to Gary Reysa on a well executed DIY solar solution.

Hi -- Just to address the comments above:
Summer Overheating:
To much heat in the summer is not much of a problem. I just plug the outlet vents, so no heat gets into the building. With the vents closed, the collector gets up to about 180F inside, which is not a problem. Since the sun is high in the summer and low in the winter, less sun shines on a vertical collector in the summer -- this makes vertical collectors great for winter space heating. A small overhang could be added above collector to block the summer sun, but does not seem to be needed.

Trombe Wall:
This collector is not really a Trombe wall, as it has no storage. Trombe walls work well when you want to carry over the days heat into the evening. Aside from the greater cost, my only issue with Trombe walls is that their efficiency is low -- less than 30% in the cases I have seen.

Glazing Life:
From what I have read, I expect the glazing to last at least 15 years, and its only $150 to replace. SunTuf warrants it for "life", which may be true at my age :)

Alternatives:
There is another good and simple shop, studio, or playroom solar heater that also provides nice daylighting here:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/SolarGarageCollector/garcol.htm

Thanks Treehugger for putting this up!!

Gary