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Author Topic: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar  (Read 46073 times)

buzneg

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #30 on: December 26, 2008, 06:50:40 AM »
Solar powerd rockets, great idea. Solar powered turbines too. Someone on another forum has figured out that CO2 gas is the best to use, after looking at ammonia and hydrogen.

The biggest problem that I'm seeing is that reflective material, or lenses have to use tracking systems to work fully. Just laying out a "green house type" is very cheap but doesn't heat the air/water very much, and loses heat because of the larger area. I guess it's a matter of insulation. If one square meter of "greenhouse" is perfectly insulated then it will be as good as 1 square meter of lens focusing on a small spot. As long as Black absorbs different quanaties of light the same... more effort will have to be put into making it look dark inside the greenhouse, because the greenhouse has more area for the light to excape. (if you don't see light then the heat is not excapping, probably a high serfice area black matterial would work best, black plastic actaully does reflect light.)

here's something that utilizes the greenhouse and the reflective methods.
http://www.sunoven.com/

solar walls seem very worth while.
http://www.retscreen.net/ang/video.php

http://www.steorn.com/forum/search.php?PostBackAction=Search&Keywords=solar&Type=Topics&btnSubmit=Search


triffid

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #32 on: December 30, 2008, 09:12:16 PM »
I think all the ideas presented here are good ones.We as a nation need to get hellbent on using more solar power.Its out there anyway.Even moonlight can be collected.Maybe no heat from moonlight since ir travels in straight lines and moonlight is reflected light.So maybe we can get electricity from moonlight if nothing else.Triffid

Artic_Knight

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #33 on: January 01, 2009, 12:56:01 AM »
there is a how to on the internet for a cheap solar collector, use the perferated plastic sheets basically from the side they have long hollow tubes but from the front its a solid sheet of plastic, this combined with some pvc pipe and special glue can make a excellent hot water heater of 30-40% there are many ways to get this plastic. often it is used for the "vote this senetor" signs on the side of the road. it doesnt have a fantastic life span as it does get brittle after some years so keep it in a area that if it leaks there will be no water damage.


buzneg

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #34 on: January 02, 2009, 07:44:02 PM »
I think vaccum insulated windows will be a big heat saver. If it's cold where you are just feel under your windows, and compiar that to the walls

http://www.goodcleantech.com/2008/03/heatsaving_vacuum_insulated_wi.php

http://greenbuildingelements.com/2008/03/17/super-insulating-vacuum-glass/

Polycarbonate just over a $1 per sq foot?
http://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/PEXCollector/PEXCollector.htm

triffid

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #35 on: January 08, 2009, 06:12:55 PM »
I have been told that" harbor freight "(a store here in dallas and else where) has a point and click IR thermometer that you aim at a surface and get the temperature of it .And "Harbor Freight " has them for about 10 dollars,Looks like a keychain almost.Could be very useful in solar power experimenting. I used to use a bigger one when I was a kiln operator for Acme Brick.Triffid

buzneg

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #36 on: January 11, 2009, 08:38:39 AM »
A very good report http://www.solar-thermal.com/index.html

esolar's site is worth reading too.

Solar thermal is going to be cheaper then coal, and I have done calculations that show as low as $500 per KW average output. Coal is $1500-$1300 per KW output. $2000 per kw is a conservative estimate I did for solar thermal. The report doesn't know that there's a few types of turbines that are 80% efficient. The solar companies don't seem to realize that it's more suitable to use multiple kinds of collectors and step them up. Like trough and then pipe it to a tower or lenz. Most overunity devices would cost at least $500 per kW output anyways.

infringer

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #37 on: January 11, 2009, 08:57:32 AM »
Moonlight will be an expensive to undertake but... Who knows maybe the common ir sensor in your cable box may hold the key.

As far as solar heaters I have gave my idea several times a couple differnt places and I have yet to have see it disproven for the sake of not repeating myself just look for me and look at solar discussions.

triffid

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #38 on: January 16, 2009, 08:59:21 PM »
Using mirrors or reflective materials to aim up to 100x the sunlight through
a fresnel lens might be possible .Afterall most of the heat would pass through the lens not harming it.I think.Triffid

jadaro2600

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #39 on: January 17, 2009, 09:08:53 AM »
Mirror tint the inside of the glass pane protecting the solar panel so that light reflected off the panel reflects back onto the solar panel.

Heat is trapped in the 'cell'.  Now, run your solar water heating through the same said solar cell, and gain heat to water.

Next, trap water for conventional hot water use through an exchanger.

Behind the exchanger, post exchanged, and the ambient air, place a sterling engine, and generate motion for electricity.

Combine and store energy for use.

Not super cheap, be it's taking step toward utilizing waste heat and sunlight.

Using the right kind of glass to trap high energy light is important.

triffid

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #40 on: January 18, 2009, 09:42:11 PM »
Nature invented solar farming way before man.The giant clam"tridacna"
grows" lenses" on the outside of its mantle to concentrate the sun's rays on the swarms of microsopic algae that live in its tissues and the clam eats more algae as a result.So far I have never heard  anywhere of man trying to grow bigger plants by reflecting more light upon them.Maybe we should try solar farming too?It took a clam to lead the way.We should be ashamed?Don't we have more brains than a clam?
Triffid

jadaro2600

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #41 on: January 19, 2009, 12:48:34 AM »
Nature invented solar farming way before man.The giant clam"tridacna"
grows" lenses" on the outside of its mantle to concentrate the sun's rays on the swarms of microsopic algae that live in its tissues and the clam eats more algae as a result.So far I have never heard  anywhere of man trying to grow bigger plants by reflecting more light upon them.Maybe we should try solar farming too?It took a clam to lead the way.We should be ashamed?Don't we have more brains than a clam?
Triffid

Gigantism is caused by higher ambient pressures or genetic abnormalities.  Do a search on high pressure farming.

Also, your thoughts on clams reminds me of Diatoms whose silica shells help focus light on their chloroplasts.

buzneg

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #42 on: January 20, 2009, 01:50:21 AM »
Done some searches on high pressure farming, didn't find anything.

focusing on a solar cell with a lens doesn't only lower the cost by replacing much of the cell material, but also makes the cell work at 37-40% efficiency, whereas unfocused light cells work at 12-15% efficiency. Like high temperature gradients makes steam turbines and stirlings etc, work more efficient.

reflective material is much cheaper then lenses.

triffid

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #43 on: January 20, 2009, 06:37:14 PM »
If solar farming(reflecting 2x-3x the amount of normal light upon a plant) could increase world food supplies 2 or 3 times what it is today.Is this not a major breakthough?Afterall the ir component could be removed from sunlight to avoid overheating of the plant.Giant clams have been around how long?(millions of years?) So its worked for them.Why not put the same idea to work for us?This is not my idea,Nature is already doing it .But I am totally shocked that in the 30 plus years me  since me being a science major in both biology and chemistry since college I have never run across someone somewhere who was reflecting more sunlight upon food crops to grow more food.Maybe now world hunger can be a thing of the past?Triffid

buzneg

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Re: Trying to find super cheap way to collect solar
« Reply #44 on: January 21, 2009, 08:09:39 AM »
If solar farming(reflecting 2x-3x the amount of normal light upon a plant) could increase world food supplies 2 or 3 times what it is today.Is this not a major breakthough?Afterall the ir component could be removed from sunlight to avoid overheating of the plant.Giant clams have been around how long?(millions of years?) So its worked for them.Why not put the same idea to work for us?This is not my idea,Nature is already doing it .But I am totally shocked that in the 30 plus years me  since me being a science major in both biology and chemistry since college I have never run across someone somewhere who was reflecting more sunlight upon food crops to grow more food.Maybe now world hunger can be a thing of the past?Triffid

Plants can get sunburned from too much light. Reading about greenhouse glazing I find that they don't want too much infrared light because it will cause too much heat. They do use reflecting to help plants grow.
http://cgi.ebay.com/4'-x-25'-Mylar-Sunleaves-Reflective-film--Hydroponics_W0QQitemZ360118074480QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081221?IMSfp=TL081221118007r10526

How much light and heat it can take will depend on the kind of plant.