SolarVenti now on display at PepperGreen Farm

The SolarVenti’s a solar powered Danish invention originally designed to keep the Danes’ holiday homes dry and well ventilated through their cold and snowy winters. The idea proved so successful that people began fitting them to their homes. They’ve now made their way to Australia and if you wander down to PepperGreen Farm you can see how it works.

This ingenious idea is actually two separate units. The first bit cools and heats. It works on the premise that the temperature underground is cooler than the temperature aboveground during summer and vice versa during winter.

It comprises a group of 25mm diameter black, corrugated pipes that are buried 600mm underground. At one end the pipes are connected to a single inlet pipe that sits outside at ground level while the other end is connected to a pipe that goes into the building. This pipe has a small fan in it.

The idea is that the fan draws air from the underground pipes and pumps it into the room. In summer the air is cool and in winter it’s warm. Clever stuff eh?

Then we get to the ‘real’ solar bit. That’s mainly for heating. There’s a black glass topped ‘box’ with a vented back that sits on the roof with a good northerly aspect. In the case of PepperGreen Farm it’s been placed closer to the ground so you can have a good look at it. The air in the ‘box’ heats up and is then pumped into the house. Of course it only works during the day when the sun’s out, but will provide welcome supplementary heat.

Story by Annie Mayo