Its using a sterling engine. :3 So no, there aren't photovoltaic panels in the dish itself. Instead the parabolic design of the mirror focuses all the incoming light onto a small target, to generate heat. The sterling engine thus uses that heat to rapidly pump a free piston, and generate mechanical energy.
Its a very simple and effective way of going about solar energy production. ^^ Generally involves less energy costs to build than photovoltaic setups as well. They require a LOT of materials, and from what I understand aren't the cleanest things to make in the first place. Which is a shame!
Though various teams are working on next-gen photovoltaic generation, that use incredibly thin materials built on a nano scale for all intents and purposes. Those should prove much better. :3
So these Sterling ones aren't necessarily more efficient than big flat solar panels, they're just cheaper (and more environmentally-friendly to construct)?
Oh boy, and chance to play "techno-wuff"vrghrSeptember 9 2010, 19:20:17 UTC
Actually, if their advertised efficiency of 24% is accurate, they're more efficient than the majority of mass-market solar systems, which range from around 5 to 19
( ... )
3kW per what? My desktop computer alone has a 1kW power supply. Plus the other 10-12 computers at 180W each... And that's not even getting into the monitors, network, or other hosuehold needs.
Actually, for a power source like that, its just plain ol' 3kW.
The dish doesn't have any built in battery reserve, so the only rating you can give it is in terms of immediate output: 3kW.
This is the max output when the sun is shining. Clouds and darkness would reduce that. If the sun shines constantly for an hour, then the dish will have delivered (providing a constant output connection) 3kWh for that hour. But you can't rate a device like this dish in terms of kWh.
Re: More techie-wuff stuff!tombfyreSeptember 10 2010, 01:53:38 UTC
Yes, I see where I made the error between the two terms there. ^^ I *used* to know more about all this stuff, but apparently things have been slipping over the years!
Hooray for the tech woof further clearing things up. :3 You likely would want more than one dish on sight then, unless you were direct feeding it into the grid or something.
They didn't give me a price when I asked, as they're targeting large power projects, not individual users. ^^ But yeah, one or two for private use would be great.
I should pass this to my dad. He's pretty keen on installing solar panels. This might be a much better option, however :D
BTW, I'd never have thought that a single dish is able to generate so much power! If it's not too much hassle for you, please do forward the pdf file to me :)
A few o' those dishes would likely cover your daily power consumption. ^^ And sure, I'll send along the PDF. But like I said, they're not selling them to residences quite yet.
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Its a very simple and effective way of going about solar energy production. ^^ Generally involves less energy costs to build than photovoltaic setups as well. They require a LOT of materials, and from what I understand aren't the cleanest things to make in the first place. Which is a shame!
Though various teams are working on next-gen photovoltaic generation, that use incredibly thin materials built on a nano scale for all intents and purposes. Those should prove much better. :3
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The dish doesn't have any built in battery reserve, so the only rating you can give it is in terms of immediate output: 3kW.
This is the max output when the sun is shining. Clouds and darkness would reduce that. If the sun shines constantly for an hour, then the dish will have delivered (providing a constant output connection) 3kWh for that hour. But you can't rate a device like this dish in terms of kWh.
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Hooray for the tech woof further clearing things up. :3 You likely would want more than one dish on sight then, unless you were direct feeding it into the grid or something.
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BTW, I'd never have thought that a single dish is able to generate so much power! If it's not too much hassle for you, please do forward the pdf file to me :)
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