Build an Outdoor Solar Shower
By author. Filed in Main Info |
In the summer months, no backyard is complete without a shower, so why not have a solar heated shower? These can be as simple or elaborate as you want, ranging from a long length of flexible black water pipe to an elegant shower stall with decking, drainage and privacy screening.
Let’s look at a simple outdoor solar shower in a typical backyard, maybe beside a swimming pool or hot tub, both of which could be heated from the shower’s hot water supply.
Your primary concern must be proper drainage for the solar heated shower. Some local authorities will let you use a simple French drain or run-off into a convenient flower bed. Or you might have to build a full drainage system linked to the mains sewer or your cesspit. You will have to observe whatever rules are in force for your neighborhood.
The design of your outdoor solar shower will depend on other criteria as well:
Privacy. Is this important? If so you will need a simple cubicle structure, no more than 4 foot square, located away from upstairs windows (yours and your neighbors!).
Mains Water. If your shower is positioned far away from the mains water supply you will experience a drop in shower pressure. You could increase this by fitting a water storage tank mounted above the height of the shower head.
Sun. Clearly a solar heated shower needs plenty of sunshine to work properly. Enough hot water for the next shower should be available in about 15 minutes or so, but it will need much longer if there is shade over the solar heating system for a significant part of the day.
Use. Is the solar heated shower to be used after having a dip in the pool or hot tub? To cool off after a sunbathe? These things will have a strong influence on your shower design.
Debris. Leaves can collect in the shower, and it is a chore to remove them every time you want to use it. A simple wooden cover plate is a good idea to place over pan, and if possible locate the shower well away from trees.
Between 9 and 16 square feet is a good size for an outdoor solar shower, and build it on decking about a foot above the ground, to allow the placement of a simple galvanized steel collector box under the shower to drain the soiled water away to the sewer or cesspit.
Consider extending the decking a few feet out from the entrance to the shower, to make toweling easier and to keep feet clean while being dried. Use 4×4 pressure-treated softwood uprights for the corners of the shower enclosure, and make the sides of the shower from wood or fiber cement paneling.
The solar heating system itself is very simple to make. It could be as basic as fixing a shower head to 500 feet of flexible pipe coiled in the sun. A more permanent arrangement is to fix the water pipe in an open box facing the sun and mounted over the shower. If you need more hot water you could use an old water tank or hot water cylinder in the solar heating pipe, but this would have to be higher than the shower head to give you enough pressure.
In very hot weather you might need to include a mixer system, for ensuring your shower is not too hot for you!
There is a huge variety of diy solar shower designs available and, to help you choose the right one for you, we have an excellent guide produced by solar heating experts. There are plans, diagrams and clear, step-by-step instructions to guide you through the whole process.
Tags: build a solar shower, diy solar shower, outdoor solar shower, solar heated shower, solar shower