- Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:47 pm
#20152
Yeah, yeah. That's real nice if you've got a few hundred thou to invest, but what about a small home or ranch size unit.
jhonebhrestom wrote:Do you think 20% efficiency is beyond the realms of possibility with a well designed system. Coal fired power stations manage 30-35%.Solar thermal collectors can have up to 70% efficiency. The energy is free. However, there are hidden dimensions that spoil the picture somewhat.
Anyway, the energy from the sun is free and non-polluting, so it doesn't matter that much.I had done one experiment by using the microscopic lens beam focused on to paper thats get burned.I learned that solar is the massive heater.
littlewop wrote: I know they point a heat gathering sourse ( The mirrors) at the heating chamber,then the turbines turn from the steam pressure ( pretty simple). But I would like to scale it down for single family use.Even in the tropics, the steam generated/sq.m. collector area for a full day of clear sun in summer will be about 3KWhr. Small turbines may get up to 40% efficiency, which means about 1.2KWHr electric power. If this is stored in a battery there will be a further loss of efficiency.
littlewop wrote:where did you get the 35KWH ? rishi what turbine size and array are you talking about? So I shouldnt even ask about this, acording to you it won't be worth $400. to try to make a backyard array. I must be at the wrong website I didn't know I would be shut down before anybody had a chance to put together any ideas. I saw one guy(discovery channel) with an array in his backyard supplying 4 homes but I don't know any specs.So I ask here and get shut down.He used Mylar sheets and a steam generator it used about 200 square feet of room. Didnt any else see this? I did not see how large the steam tank was .There is no question of shutting out ideas. 200 sqft collector area can give about 25 to 30 KWHr energy/day. High pressure steam tank working @ > 15 psi and a volume >5 gallons will attract provisions of the ASME boiler code. I am not saying it is not possible. Just pointing out the costs involved in a backyard steam turbine.
littlewop wrote:When you say 25- 30 KWH in what way are you generating this or are you collecting it ?The figure represents the maximum electric power that can be realized using thermal power that can be collected for a 200 sqft area of collector on a clear day in the tropics. That is what a generator can be expected to produce. I had done some work in this area years back and this was the kind of collection efficiencies that could be realized. I have mutiplied our data on heat collection achieved by the efficiency of steam generators and gave the figure of 25 - 30 KWHr.
OCTOMAN80@MAC.COM wrote:HI DAN: I HAVE A N OCTAGON HOME WITH A SKYLIGHT IN THE CENTER OF A 12' OCTAGON UTILITY ROOM. MY DREAN IS A NEAR ZERO HOME WITH NO ROOF OR YARD GARBAGE. I HAVE THIS MODELED TO ACHIEVE NEAR ZERO WITH NO ATTACHMENT TO THE ELECTRICAL GRID. I WANT TO PUT THE FROSTING ON THE CAKE WITH AN ARRAY OF MAGNIFYING GLASSES ARRANGED ON AN ARC BAND SHAPED TO THE PARTICULAR LATITUDE AND HINGED TO PIVOT, FOLLOWING THE SUNS MOVEMENT FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. THIS WOULD HEAT WATER OR GENERATE STEAM IN AN INSULATED TANK IN THE CENTER OF THE UTILITY ROOM.. I WELCOME SOLUTIONS. I AM BUILDING THIS HOME NOW. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. I AM A SERVANT OF MANKIND & WISH TO SHARE IDEAS.Curtis - I wonder have you spelt your name correctly? I really would like to help with spell checking as errors are diverting me from the more important points that you are making - I am getting the gist but it is quite a challenge to guess some of the words you are utilising! Kind regards & good luck with your free heating in your home...........................
CURTIS L. BIGGAR, ARCHITECT
This must be very useful information. Thank you ve[…]