I have a south-facing covered flafstone patio that would be ideal for collecting solar heat in the winter. I would like to collect info on solar transmission, emission, and cost to try to decide between some of the newer twin-wall poly sheets that are used a lot, or 1" sealed window units, or single pane tempered glasspanels.
I dont really need to maintain warmth at night so the emmisivity is less of an issue, and would like to maximize gain in the day. Initially I was considering not constructing walls, and just changing the roof to allow the sun to hit the south side of the house which has a lot of big windows... be the simplest and quickest. However, I dont know if enough solar gain would make it thru a clear roof, and then my house windows, to give any benefit.
So my first q has to do with transmissivity... what roof would give the best chance of getting gain thru it, and then house windows? The poly walls seem to diffuse the light a fair amount, so I dont know how much could then make it thru the house windows...
Or, should I just give up that idea and go with enclosing the patio for the winters? I would plan to remove wall windows in the summer and shade the roof with a solar awning material.
Once I have a handle on the relative tranmissivity properties, I can make a better choice with regard to price.
thanks, d