Solar Energy -- DIY solar set ups

A year of oil at 140 would sort this whole thing out imho.

Even at 140 oil is cheap. Everybody still drives a car even though 10 years ago people laughted at my idea of the one pound litre of petrol.

riven wrote:

Even at 140 oil is cheap. Everybody still drives a car even though 10 years ago people laughted at my idea of the one pound litre of petrol.

This is very true - the cost of the drive from Limerick to Cork for me with 3 others in the car might be little more than €8 which is way cheaper than the bus.

I'm afraid that oil will have to double in price before it has any real effect on some people's driving although Ford in the States have completely changed their tune about producing small cars.

In reversal, Ford veers from SUV's (nope, that's not my intrusive apostrophe on the plural for SUV, that's the International Herald Tribune's )

I see that a new factory producing the nanotechnology-based solar panels is going into production, and expect to roll out about 1 gigawatt a year.

clareman51 wrote:

I see that a new factory producing the nanotechnology-based solar panels is going into production, and expect to roll out about 1 gigawatt a year.

I'm looking forward to this. Could I wear a solar jacket to power my motorised roller skates?

That may not be as outlandish as it seems.

clareman51 wrote:

That may not be as outlandish as it seems.

You thought I was joking?

But no!

How could we do it?

On Digg.com, in the science section, there's an article about a solar-powered bikini.

clareman51 wrote:

On Digg.com, in the science section, there's an article about a solar-powered bikini.

What does it power ?

cactus flower wrote:

clareman51 wrote:

On Digg.com, in the science section, there's an article about a solar-powered bikini.

What does it power ?

An in-built toaster!

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

clareman51 wrote:

On Digg.com, in the science section, there's an article about a solar-powered bikini.

What does it power ?

An in-built toaster!

Here it is. It seems to be used to chill drinks. Bizarre.

That USB toaster always gives me a laugh (but it is the future )

Is Louis Vitton gone yet? Are the days of €1500 hand-bags changing into ..... this!



the Power-Purse® - the look every blonde in Folks Roke will want to have on the dashboard of her sports activity vehicle once the blonde desperate housewife next door already has it on hers. How else would you, loike, power your mobile?

Get it eventually from Brown Thomas for €250 - sure you wouldn't even get a pair of socks for that. Poor innocent Ecogeek thought that $300-400 was expensive for a bag so he doesn't like know that there are people in existence who would pay five times that for a bag with a label.

Ecogeek wrote:

Solar bags so far are notoriously expensive. From $1500 for a briefcase, to $300-$400 for a carry-on style bag, to $250 for a beach bag. All of which are fairly ugly. They grasp desperately onto some appeal factor by looking like anything you can pick up at Target, but end up utterly unspectacular except for the sore-thumb solar cells on the sides. Luckily, women - or men exceedingly comfortable with their sexuality - will be able to have their style and solar power too.

Cost competitive for other bags we’ve seen (though still pretty pricy), is the new Solarjo Power Purse. Coming in at $285, it’s about what someone with extra cash would spend on a fancy purse. And this one looks like something you might find at a nicer department store – in fact, it looks really stylish.

The purse is covered in solar cells that can soak up enough sun in two hours to charge a cell phone battery. The PV cells are laminated for protection from scratches, and two batteries held in the lining of the purse hold a full charge that can last for up to a month. A USB port inside the purse can be used for charging most any small device, from phones to cameras, palm pilots to iPods. Basically, someone can just plop it on a window sill at work or some sunny location, wait for a charge, and plug in their doo-dads, all with the purse functioning exactly as a purse should – no obtrusive wires or obnoxiously geeky give-aways.

You know, that's a knacky piece of kit. I forgot to charge my phone and my camera battery last night - and I don't have spares at the moment - and have to hang around for an hour this morning when I should be gone. Such a handbag would be very useful...

More from Ecogeek on solar. For governments, consumers and banks this is generally the way to go I believe ...

Quote :

A new program for Connecticut homeowners is promising to explode the installation of home solar systems in the state. Basically, the state will be providing low interest loans to anyone of "moderate or low" income.

The solar systems will be installed for free, and then the residents will pay a flat low rate, presumably in exchange for the power the panels generate. While the upfront costs of solar panels (often more than $30,000) are out of reach for most homeowners, they actually promise to save money over the life of the panels.

So the state is absorbing the up-front costs of the panels for anyone who makes less than 150% of the median income of their area. The households will pay a monthly rate of less than $120. This should represent a nice steady source of income for the state. And, of course, it has wonderful environmental consequences as well, all for less than the cost of some cable TV packages.

Still, they only expect about 1,000 homeowners to take advantage of the program over the next three years. It seems to me that more people would be interested in taking advantage of the program. It's possible that CT is limiting applications at first to ensure viability of the program.

Similar solar lease programs have taken off in California as well, and Wal-Mart has installed many of it's solar panels with similar financing techniques.

So if you're a Nutmegger, go to the CT Solar Lease site and see if you can get into the program. And if you have any report on how it goes, email me at tips@ecogeek.org.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2017/

Only 1000 expected to take up the scheme at first which may blossom once a few of the Joneses over there get their shiny black panels installed but perhaps it is also evidence of how credit crunched people are ...

Solar - Big Style !
The Sahara Forest Project, which is already running demonstration plants in Tenerife, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, envisages huge greenhouses with concentrated solar power (CSP), a technology that uses mirrors to focus the sun's rays, creating steam to drive turbines to generate electricity.


Vast greenhouses that use sea water for crop cultivation could be combined with solar power plants to provide food, fresh water and clean energy in deserts, under an ambitious proposal from a team of
architects and engineers.

Could this be what we'll need to do in the near future - engage in Terraforming in order to accomodate people on the planet as well as generating energy and creating new resources like forests? An environment completely dependent on human machinery ...

Quote :

Charlie Paton, a member of the team, and the inventor of the Seawater Greenhouse, said the scheme was a proven way to transform arid environments. "Plants need light for growth but they don't like heat beyond a certain point," he said.

Above certain temperatures the amount of water lost through leaves' stomata rises so much plants stop their photosynthesis and do not grow. The solar farm planned by the project runs seawater evaporators, pumping damp, cool air through the greenhouses. This reduces the warmth inside by about 15C, compared with the temperature outside.

The nutrients to grow the plants could come from local seaweed or be extracted from the seawater.

The cost of the Sahara Forest Project could be relatively low as both CSP and Seawater Greenhouses are proven technologies. The designers estimate that building 20 hectares (nearly 50 acres) of greenhouses combined with a 10MW CSP scheme would cost about €80m (£65m).

The Guardian

If we could simulate how seagulls desalinate water in their gobs then there would be less need for all the glitter above ..

Happy Christmas from Ecogeek! Just as the Sun has been turning that cosmological corner in the sky over the last few days we can be reminded that last Spring was very sunny even though the Summer was guck. Maybe we'll get another good Spring again this year and it has been lovely and sunny over the last few days.

Now, here is the lovely combination of software and energy that is a great example of the usefulness of combining components. Google earth coupled with local sunshine hours data and with a few clicks you'll know the potential of your own roof for solar- God knows how accurate it could be as there isn't a sensor at present up in everyone's roof but the approximate figure should be good enough. Next thing is, if we did start availing of solar then the panels could have sensors built in that would feed-back real information on the sunshine hours. It would be an extremely detailed sensor for weather as well as providing hot water or heat.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2399/

With permission

The Chinese are building a massive 1 gigawatt solar power station ! Twice as big as an American one !

Still, it's 90 times smaller than the coal-fired capacity they put in last year alone


http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2420/

Irish Company Creates World’s Most Efficient Solar Hot Water Panel - Cleantechnica



This could get big. I wonder if they have a patent on the technology ? It's 131% more efficient in mornings and evenings...


An Irish company called Surface Power has launched what it claims is the world’s most efficient solar hot water panel. Certification by testing house TUV Rhineland has shown that the innovative product is up to 131% more efficient in morning and evening time and 76% more efficient at midday than other panels.

Surface Power also believes its product could reduce domestic and commercial hot water bills by up to 70%. While the company’s panel was designed specifically for the retrofit market, it is also suitable for new installations.

So far, the solar hot water panel is a big hit. ““We received over 400 inquiries from the US alone last month after the specifications were released during the Christmas period. We also expect the international home renovation market to be very strong during the next three years, as our collector is the only pre-packaged vacuum collector on the world market,” said John Quinn, the company’s founder.

Surface Power will create 20 new jobs over the next 12 months in anticipation of international distribution for its solar panel.

http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/06/irish-company-creates-worlds-most-efficient-solar-hot-water-panel/

Nice looking unit Audi. I wonder how much for that ?

Odd that the tubes are horizontal ...

This is the one I have my eye on.

SOL402

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Nice looking unit Audi. I wonder how much for that ?

Odd that the tubes are horizontal ...

This is the one I have my eye on.

SOL402

How much heat do you get for the €865 and would you install it yourself - hardly - you'd need a new cylinder as well.

I think they're measured in kWh despite being thermal.

I don't really know . Have sums to do.

Yes I would need a new cylinder, a much bigger one with a twin coil. That will be more expensive than the tube array.

If I decide to go ahead, I will do it myself. It's not that difficult. Just tricky getting onto the roof and all. I would probably need to hire a tower scaffold for the weekend.

You'll do it yourself though ? You've done some of that plumbing before haven't you?

You'll also need a pump, a rake of piping, some thermostats, maybe some tools?

Does it feed into the central heating system as it is then - have you got a backboiler on your fireplace already connected by the way?

Well for central heating I think solar is more compatible with underfloor heating because the operating temp of UFH is only about 20 deg. whereas for radiators it is more like 55 deg.

I suppose in theory you could use solar to preheat the water in your radiator system, giving the boiler less work to do.

Primarily it is for hot water itself I think, sinks, showers and washing machine.

Add: No I have no back boiler, but then I never use the fireplace.

Another aspect of this business. Why some sustainable power is unsustainable...

I found it enlightening.