Welcome to offgridsushi – your home for self-sustainability. This article I’ll explain how to build an inexpensive space heater that you can use to heat a room, greenhouse etc. It runs off 12 Volts DC (120 Amps) that you can connect to a solar panel or 12V Car Battery.

Lets get started-

The main items you will need:

5 Gallon Steel Bucket - $17
12 Volt Submersible Water Heater Element - $22
Thermodynamic Heat Fan $25
50 lb. Bag of Sand $10

The science is very simple; the water heater element heats the sand. The property of sand holds heat for a very long time. Sand also has a low heat transfer coefficient of (0.06W/m²·°?) which increases its ability to hold heat for a prolonged time & has a very high melting point of 1700 degrees. This making it excellent for uses of heating.

Simply insert the water heater element into the sand, attach or sit the heat fan on the sand to disburse the heat.

I used these to heat our greenhouses & chicken coop, it can also be used to heat a small room.


Peace and Plants
-Sushi