Sundial

One of the most overlooked uses of the sun is in keeping time. This is one case where the effeciency is 100%. Ancient people sure didn't overlook it. Not only can you tell time, but you can also tell the time of the year depending on the dial you use. I personally only have one dial, a portable one from Pennsic War. Unfortunately it only works in Pennsylvania and similar latitudes, but it looks great and it's portable.

Mirrors

I have several large 4'x4' mirrors that I'm going to place against my back fence to see if it can help heat the house in the next few days. The only trick will be to keep it from entirely blocking the light from hitting my plants which need at least some light.
My goal is to get the dining room at least 5 degrees warmer than the front of the house. This is usually the coldest room since it faces north.

Solar Panels 2

Ok, so I was a little off...

Title:
25% efficient concentrated solar power panels

Concentrated solar power (CSP) panels use two different mirrors to focus about 500 times the energy from the sun before the light is directed onto small high efficient solar cell. This small cell got cheaper than big one…. -:), that’s the idea behind. To use pricey materiel sparignly and gain in overall cost. The vast majority of the system “over 95%” is maid either from aluminum or glass. It uses traditionally lowcost and materials.

Not by much.

So now the rate of decline is 500^2? 25,000 times the usage due to resistance and electron loss and it's only twice as efficient? (the parent article stated that the efficiency went from 12 to 25%)

The article it came from is no better. They spout the word efficient like there is some actual explanation behind it. That's just what I would like to see instead of the same picture over and over again.

A major problem I see with the system is that it uses mirrors left out in the weather. I don't know about everyone, but at my house I get a lot of rain, pollen, bugs, and all other sorts of things that like to mess up nice shiny things. cleaning them would be a real hassle. Otherwise the more buildup you have the less power is generated.

Solar panels

Recently I read about a solar panel that was supposed to be running at 27% efficiency. They suposedly did this by concentrating more light onto the panel with mirrors.
I've done this myslef but am pretty sure that this would decrese the lifespan of the panel itself.
In other words, if it incressed from 9% to 27% then it would be a 3 times output thus fighting against more resistance which is the chemical change between the two doped silicon plates. Overall this would decrease the lifespan 3^2 which is 9 times shorter. The 30 year panel is now a three and a third year panel and needs constant replacement.

Solar plot

A solar plot is the amount of land you have where you can harness the sun. You should be aware of your neighbors and their rights to the sun that they recieve. If you have a fence erected on a northern bondry of your property then there is that much more