I would expect more from an engineering site...
I have talked to quite a few people about this already for a few years now. The inherent problems with this stems from the concentration of heat (energy). It does more than let the solar cell output (not make) electricity. It also heats the poor cell up.
Now take the sun, it has a lot of energy coming off of it. If you concentrate it by 4 you have an oven able to broil food. Multiply it by 1000? Silicon might sublimate, not to mention the steel supports holding the cell. Not very condusive to harnessing it into electricity.
If you could keep it in a solid electrically outputting cell, it's lifespan which is usually 20-30 years drops to around 10 days. If it took 6 hours to replace it would drop it's efficiency by 2.5%.
That's not the worst drain on efficiency though. Hot metal is a much worse conducter than cold metal. The near liquid state would make any electrical current a mere trickle.
http://www.engineering.com/Videos/VideoPlayer/tabid/4627/VideoId/2140/A-Solar-Cell-1000-Times-More-Powerful.aspx
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Solar Days Getting Shorter
As you may know the sun is starting to be out less. It's probably not very noticable yet but it soon will be. As we get into July and August it will be painfully apparent that there is less light to do stuff by that needs to get done.
Then starting in August the orbit of the planet will do something that none of us really like. High noon, the actuall middle of the day, will quickly become earlier and earlier effectively chopping out twenty-five minutes from the available daylight in the evening and putting it up front on top of having a shorter total span of daylight.
In effect this causes the sun to rise about the same time every morning for a couple months while the sun sets an hour earlier by the end of that same span. At least where I live in north central Texas and similar latitudes.
The overall effect to me is that I'll have a booger of a time getting everything watered in the evening while there is still light.
Then starting in August the orbit of the planet will do something that none of us really like. High noon, the actuall middle of the day, will quickly become earlier and earlier effectively chopping out twenty-five minutes from the available daylight in the evening and putting it up front on top of having a shorter total span of daylight.
In effect this causes the sun to rise about the same time every morning for a couple months while the sun sets an hour earlier by the end of that same span. At least where I live in north central Texas and similar latitudes.
The overall effect to me is that I'll have a booger of a time getting everything watered in the evening while there is still light.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Solar Waning
It's already started and is becoming more noticeable as the days draw on. The sun is less and less visible and will soon be a rare sight for the more northern residences.
Here in Texas it's not that bad just a few hours less a day in the middle of winter but the trees loose their leaves and let what little light there is through for all of the solar applications. The drop in temperature also makes the wires more conductive and helps make up for the lack of light.
Soon it will be time to move the mirrors from the roof to the back fence. BBQ in the snow anyone, that is if it ever snows here....
Here in Texas it's not that bad just a few hours less a day in the middle of winter but the trees loose their leaves and let what little light there is through for all of the solar applications. The drop in temperature also makes the wires more conductive and helps make up for the lack of light.
Soon it will be time to move the mirrors from the roof to the back fence. BBQ in the snow anyone, that is if it ever snows here....
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Nothing's free...
Who says nothing's free?
Did you know that all the money you spend at a tanning salon can be saved just by taking in a few rays of the sun? That's right, the sun can actually give you a tan. I know what you're thinking, "That'll kill me in about two seconds with it's cancer death rays!" Rest assured, there are no cancer death rays eminating from the sun. What comes from the sun is merely the same rays that the tanning bed shines at you but at a much cheaper rate. The only draw back is that you can't use it at night. So I guess for all of you night tanners, suck it up and spend some time in the sun. A really easy way to do this is merely park a little farther from the mall and walk in the sun. A little goes a long way.
Did you know that all the money you spend at a tanning salon can be saved just by taking in a few rays of the sun? That's right, the sun can actually give you a tan. I know what you're thinking, "That'll kill me in about two seconds with it's cancer death rays!" Rest assured, there are no cancer death rays eminating from the sun. What comes from the sun is merely the same rays that the tanning bed shines at you but at a much cheaper rate. The only draw back is that you can't use it at night. So I guess for all of you night tanners, suck it up and spend some time in the sun. A really easy way to do this is merely park a little farther from the mall and walk in the sun. A little goes a long way.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Mirror mirror on the roof...
Ok, so mirrors won't tell me I'm the fairest of them all. That's probably because they aren't human because then, well they probably still wouldn't.
What they have done for me is keep my house like five degrees cooler. Plug that into your calculators and that's a whole bunch of savings on my cooling bill.
I currently have eight mirrors on the roof right at the top so the rain doesn't do a lot of collecting between them and the shingles. They're also raised up about half and inch with ... well I'm really not sure what it is but there's no way I can get it off so it's staying there.
I plan to add six to eight more on another part of the roof to maximize the cooling in the back of the house where it gets the hottest.
What they have done for me is keep my house like five degrees cooler. Plug that into your calculators and that's a whole bunch of savings on my cooling bill.
I currently have eight mirrors on the roof right at the top so the rain doesn't do a lot of collecting between them and the shingles. They're also raised up about half and inch with ... well I'm really not sure what it is but there's no way I can get it off so it's staying there.
I plan to add six to eight more on another part of the roof to maximize the cooling in the back of the house where it gets the hottest.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Solar Panels
Talking to a friend about solar panels and their expense. I was informed about the tax breaks and credits from power companies. It only cost $13,000. I don't have that much either...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Solar Plot usage
Your solar plot needs to be used and organized so that it does what you want it to do and minimizes waste. One big waste of your solar plot is heating your home in the summer.
Placing mirrors on your roof is probably not an accepted practice where you live but this would be a great way to redirect the light to more useful locations in the yard or just shooting it back into the air. Either way it keeps it from heating the atic and shooting up the electric bill.
Another way to do this is to plant a good shade tree to the south and keep it trimmed up off of the yard so the rest of the garden can still grow to it's full potential.
Placing mirrors on your roof is probably not an accepted practice where you live but this would be a great way to redirect the light to more useful locations in the yard or just shooting it back into the air. Either way it keeps it from heating the atic and shooting up the electric bill.
Another way to do this is to plant a good shade tree to the south and keep it trimmed up off of the yard so the rest of the garden can still grow to it's full potential.
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