# Solar Dog House



## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi,
This may sound a little goofy, but I have been talked into having a go at building a solar dog house. 

The idea would be to design and build the dog house such that it stays in a dog comfortable temperature range nearly all the time with only solar heating. 
Ideally it would also be resistant to overheating in the summer. 

My initial thought is to build it like a passive solar home. So, it would be insulated, use one of those flapper style sealed doors, have solar gain glazing, and have thermal mass to carry heat over.

Has anyone seen material on a solar dog house?
Or, have any ideas on designing/building one?

The dog in question is a 70 lb Golden.

Gary


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## Al. Countryboy (Oct 2, 2004)

I do not think it goofy at all. We keep 4 little dogs in our solarium at night during the winter and it never gets below freezing out there and up in the day it gets over 100 degrees on sunny cold days. I have 4 insulated storm doors from the thrift store along with 3 other insulated windows in my hen house which lets the nice warm sun in and cold out in the winter. I also have an area in my barn facing the south that has a long row of windows that I keep my pregnant goats and babies. On cold mornings that is where you will find them. I also have a solar hot water heater that I made that circulates into a talapia tank in the sunroom during cold sunny days to keep this tropical fish warm. One of my dogs is probably over 15 years old. She does not see or hear very well anymore. Our cat that was almost 17 when she died this spring. Can not stand the thoughts of animals being cold if not necessary. Don't like being cold and figure neither do my animals. Go for it Gary.


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Al. Countryboy said:


> I do not think it goofy at all. We keep 4 little dogs in our solarium at night during the winter and it never gets below freezing out there and up in the day it gets over 100 degrees on sunny cold days. I have 4 insulated storm doors from the thrift store along with 3 other insulated windows in my hen house which lets the nice warm sun in and cold out in the winter. I also have an area in my barn facing the south that has a long row of windows that I keep my pregnant goats and babies. On cold mornings that is where you will find them. I also have a solar hot water heater that I made that circulates into a talapia tank in the sunroom during cold sunny days to keep this tropical fish warm. One of my dogs is probably over 15 years old. She does not see or hear very well anymore. Our cat that was almost 17 when she died this spring. Can not stand the thoughts of animals being cold if not necessary. Don't like being cold and figure neither do my animals. Go for it Gary.


Thanks -- Thats encouraging -- I'll go get busy  -- Gary


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

I'd like to know the outcome of this.

My only thoughts are that since it's such a small structure that proportionally it might need a larger thermal mass than a house to compensate.


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

wy_white_wolf said:


> I'd like to know the outcome of this.
> 
> My only thoughts are that since it's such a small structure that proportionally it might need a larger thermal mass than a house to compensate.


I'll take some pictures as I go.

That makes sense to me that it would need more thermal mass -- it seems like as you get smaller the ratio of the outside surface are to internal volume goes up, and the heat loss would be proportionately higher. But, dogs seem to be OK with lower temps than we are, so maybe that helps compensate.
I have a data logger, and I'll make some temperature recordings once its up and running.

Gary


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Realize that what you consider comfortable and what is comfortable to the dog may be entirely different things. We keep our house cool in the winter by human standards but our dogs think it is way too hot and ask to go back outdoors after a little while. They love the cold of winter here in northern Vermont. They really savor that last roll in the snow in the spring.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org


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## QuiltingLady2 (Jan 3, 2007)

We just lined our dog house - 5' by 4' with insulation board. We have a fitted lid/top and put in a layer of chips to keep her warm. Nailed a small blanket over the door. In the coldest winter months we buy an old sleeping bag from the second hand store, sometimes two if they are the small ones, and throw these over the house. The dog house is in a wire kennel enclosure. We have built a easy lean-to roof over the dog house half the rest if open. 
Works for us.


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## danoon (Dec 20, 2006)

Our dog house is my old fiberglass truck cap on an insulated and carpeted platform, plywood across the opening with a piece of carpet for a door. I've run electric to it to run the heater in the cold months [old, short haired dog]. Its painted dark green for the winter months and I drape a silver tarp over it in the summer [ it actually helps quite a bit] and replace the heater with a fan. If you can come up with a cheaper way that doesn't include $500 worth of solar panels, I'd sure like to give it a try.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

Did anyone think about going underground? A friend of mine cuts the ends out of plastic 55 gal. drums, lays them horizontal, and covers them with dirt. He uses that clear plastic divider stuff like you see on loading docks to block one area from another for the flap on the drums..


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

Here's a picture of a stone dog house.

http://www.hollygraphicart.com/photoletter2003/images/7.html

Hagrid's house faces south for solar exposure so I guess that qualifies for solar!   A word: the roof stone is 12' long by 7' wide by 8" thick. That gives you an idea of how big Hagrid was in the photo when he was just six months old and a glimmer of how he got his name...


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## sage_morgan (Dec 18, 2005)

12vman said:


> Did anyone think about going underground? A friend of mine cuts the ends out of plastic 55 gal. drums, lays them horizontal, and covers them with dirt. He uses that clear plastic divider stuff like you see on loading docks to block one area from another for the flap on the drums..


This instantly reminds me of a book I read called The Secret Life of Dogs by 
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. She recounts spying on her dogs. When they thought she wasn't looking, they were digging a secret hole in the roomy enclosure they shared, which was invisible from the window they thought she was looking from, lol. I can't remember all the details, but they're dogs, and underground does make sense.


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