solar heat to electric

[jadaro2600]

It's hard to interlink in this forum - SMF should have a pugin for linking to thread's you've recently looked at or posted to - like a sidebar.

The idea behind a sterling involves moving parts and gases - along with temperatures. moving parts and devices aren't solid state, imo, the real unique device will be a solid state thermo electric device.  Paul's diode array's are interesting but all diodes have a voltage drop across them, save for maybe the most expensive kind ( correct me if I'm wrong ).

A thermojuntion system or thermopile, http://www.xyroth-enterprises.co.uk/thermser.htm from the thermo-electric series, may be an interesting addition to a solar or diode array.

Thermopiles are almost a waste of time unless you can create a thermonuclear junction, where a controlled ammout of heat is produced at the point of two metals.

[spacetrax]

Hi,
I remember a device that was originally designed for cancer cure - I don`t remember the name - it was a big ring made of annealed copper, one end of the ring was heated, the other end was cooled, the two ends were connected through a siliconated junction. It was a kind of a thermoelement that transformed heat into strong, pulsating magnetic fields. I thing these strong magnetic fields could be picked up by some coils. Anyone remember the name of that device? it was also supposed to generate antigravity, the roumors said it was suppressed.

[Bulbz]

im sorry but the maximum effeciency of electricity from solar heated water is 9.3%? considering PV panels can tap 15-30% and they see usually one spectrum of light where as a black coated solar heat collecter collects multiple light spectrums.... that doesnt make sense! not even with the science of resistance or loss of energy!

Using the solar heated water method, must be cheaper than purchasing PV panels though. I remember B&Q were selling PV panels a few years back. Everyone was saying "look at the f***ing price of those things !".

[ResinRat2]

I looked into getting solar panels installed on my house and hooking it into the grid to cut my electric bill. The cost came out to be approximately $10 USD / watt.

That would be over $10,000.00 for 1 Kilowatt of power. It would have taken over 27 years to get my money back and break even; and the warranty on the panels was for 25 years!

I refused to spend $80,000.00 just to cover most of my electric bill. What a joke the present technology is.

[buzneg]

yup, unconcentraited PV is a waste of money. How is solar heat only 9% efficient, black absorbs all light. A PV cell becomes more efficient if light is consentraited on it, usually it's about 15% efficient, but if the light is concentrated it's about 37% efficient. Solar Thermal build cost is or will soon be as cheap as coal and nuclear, coal and nuclear being $1300-$1800 per kW average yearly output.

The utilities pay almost 4 times as much for solar energy. This is because it outputs more when peak power demand is, like on sunny hot days when the air conditioners are on, that's when the grid pays more for electricity.