Supporting women and girls can be twice as impactful this giving season! Tomorrow, December 3rd, is #GivingTuesday. Join the global movement to giveback! You can double your impact to our project on Catapult.org thanks to a matching contribution from Johnson & Johnson #CareGrows.
Every donation made to our Solar Heaters for Native American Mothers project will be doubled! Our life-changing solar air heaters greatly reduce monthly utility bills and generate heat straight from the sun, helping to keep families warm during the cold winter months. What better way to give back this giving season then with the gift of heat?
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What is a Solar Heater?
Trees, Water & People’s supplemental solar air heating units are an inexpensive, simple to use, and environmentally sound way to bring comfort to reservation families suffering in the winter cold. The units are built on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation by Native-owned and operated Lakota Solar Enterprises (LSE), providing a source of employment, economic activity, and pride.
The heaters themselves are technologically straightforward. The main component of each unit is a 4×8 foot solar collector panel. The panel contains baffles to direct air flow and is backed by a specialized, heat-absorbing metal film. The baffles and absorber plate are covered by a sheet of special solar glass and surrounded by a metal frame. This solar panel is mounted and installed next to the south side of the house, where it absorbs heat from the sun. The system is connected to the house by two air ducts: supply and return. Whenever the air inside the collector panel is warmer than the temperature set on the heating system’s thermostat, a blower inside the system turns on and warm air is pushed into the house.
Learn more about solar heaters at our website!
Sustainable Development, Sustainable Livelihoods 