May 12, 2008
Harnessing sunlight on the cheap
Harnessing sunlight on the cheap
A team of students, led by mechanical engineering graduate student Spencer Ahrens, has spent the last few months assembling a prototype for a concentrating solar power system they think could revolutionize the field. It's a 12-foot-square mirrored dish capable of concentrating sunlight by a factor of 1,000, built from simple, inexpensive industrial materials selected for price, durability and ease of assembly rather than for optimum performance.
Rather than aiming for a smooth parabolic surface that would bring the sunlight to a perfect focus, the dish is being made with 10-inch-wide by 12-foot-long strips of relatively low-cost, lightweight bathroom-type mirror glass. The frame is assembled from cheap aluminum tubing, with holes drilled in precise locations using a simple jig for alignment, so that the struts can be assembled into a framework that passively snaps into just the right parabolic curvature.
The control mechanism, which allows the dish to track the sun automatically across the sky, is also remarkably simple--photocells mounted on each side of the dish with opaque baffles, which cast a shadow on the cell when it drifts out of alignment, connect to a simple circuit that turns on small electric motors to push the dish back into the right position.
Posted by Sun at 06:13 PM | Comments (0)
March 31, 2008
SolFocus "Recycled" CPV Systems
SolFocus "Recycled" CPV Systems
Many Photovoltaic Conversion systems are not a reliable solution due to their high costs and the large period of time necessary to retrieve your investment, but SolFocus Concentrated Photovoltaic systems are designed to offer you the lowest cost of energy. First of all, the CPV are made of recycled materials (over 95% glass and aluminum), which are cheaper, more reliable and easier to be maintained comparing to silicon or thin film cells.
The SolFocus CPV panels are guided by a dual axis tracker, designed by Inspira, which is already recognized for their pointing accuracy and tracking range, improving the efficiency by 40%. The primary and secondary mirrors are able to focus the solar energy up to 500 times onto the optical rod, which directs the solar energy to a very efficient solar cell. Many states offer financial help to achieve CPV systems, but regarding SolFocus CPV, you simply don’t need the help of the government to decide achieving them.
Posted by Sun at 03:39 AM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2008
Rooftop Solar Concentrators
Soliant Energy is a manufacturer of rooftop concentrating solar panels.
* Same dimensions and weight as a conventional solar panel
* Identical installation
* Optimized for the rooftop
* Fully integrated tracking within the panel
* Simple, reliable
* Low maintenance
Posted by Sun at 12:20 AM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2008
Solar Boom
Turning Glare Into Watts - New York Times
At first, as he adjusted pumps and checked temperatures, Aaron Boucher looked like any technician in the control room of an electrical plant. Then he rushed to the window and scanned the sky, to check his fuel supply.
Mr. Boucher was battling clouds, timing the operations of his power plant to get the most out of patchy sunshine. It is a skill that may soon be in greater demand, for the world appears to be on the verge of a boom in a little-known but promising type of solar power.
It is not the kind that features shiny panels bolted to the roofs of houses. This type involves covering acres of desert with mirrors that focus intense sunlight on a fluid, heating it enough to make steam. The steam turns a turbine and generates electricity.
Posted by Sun at 06:40 AM | Comments (0)