[pedalling_faster]

i thought Lockheed had kicked in a few hundred million for one of their pilot plants.

[deMolay]

Did the Manson cycle engine actually produce horsepower....Any good sites for complete online plans for Manson and Stirling engines....Thanks

[TheDude]

Maybe some of you get the Peak Oil.com News feed, which sent me this story: How mirrors can light up the world, about using CPS to provide for the world's power needs using a pittance of desert land:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')wo German scientists, Dr Gerhard Knies and Dr Franz Trieb, calculate that covering just 0.5% of the world's hot deserts with a technology called concentrated solar power (CSP) would provide the world's entire electricity needs, with the technology also providing desalinated water to desert regions as a valuable byproduct, as well as air conditioning for nearby cities.

[JRP3]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', 'M')aybe some of you get the Peak Oil.com News feed, which sent me this story: How mirrors can light up the world, about using CPS to provide for the world's power needs using a pittance of desert land:

[Frank]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JRP3', 'I') always thought it was the other way around, that AC had less transport loss and that's why it's used.

[small_steps]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Frank', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JRP3', 'I') always thought it was the other way around, that AC had less transport loss and that's why it's used.

[JRP3]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('small_steps', '
')
DC will have less loss than AC transmission lines, but the main reason that DC is used for longer distances is that the transmission of power is no longer limited by the inductive reactance of the line. That is, you can control it easier.

[Denny]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Frank', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JRP3', 'I') always thought it was the other way around, that AC had less transport loss and that's why it's used.

[JRP3]

Thanks for the explanation.

[canuckinczech]

I am new on PO...bit nervous.
I have thoroughly enjoyed everyones comments...and applaud the amount of effort you all have made to share all your valuable knowledge with others. This site has become truely a beakon for so many who seek answers to some very difficult problems we are now facing...'nuff said.
I have been researching getting off the grid for some time now, and after all I have read (thanx to PO)...it seems like solar is to be the only fesiable answer at this stage in the game.
The fresnel lens hooked up a sterling motor...seems like a combination designed by god himself...however, why did he make the sun such a chimera. I have been playing around with a home made heliostat design...which am in the process of building, when I found this site;

http://scientificsonline.com/product.as ... der_E_true

Which seems ok however...doesnt seem to follow the seasons. My question is,

"What am I missing about this combination to get all the power one could need?"

[Gerben]

One solar panel won't give you a lot of power. And only at daytime.

[WisJim]

The solution to using solar generated electricity to power your home is to reduce your usage to match the amount that you generate.

As far as tracking mounts for PVs is concerned, Wattsun and Zomeworks are two of the companies that have been around quite a few years. My Zomeworks unit is over 20 years old and works fine. They do increase the energy output of your panels, but I feel that the additional cost is as much or more than just buying more panels to increase your energy output. Tracking mounts for large PV panels aren't cheap. Making a heliostat (a device that would move mirrors so that the reflection of the sun is always pointed at the same place, which could be your PV panels), would be another possibility. Redrock is a good source of info, ideas, and components for home-built systems.

A problem with concentrating collectors, fresnel lenses, etc., is that PV panels generally get less efficient as the temperature rises.

[canuckinczech]

The idea I'm after is avoid using the solar panels and just using the focusing power of the Fresnel lens directly on Stirling(...sorry mis-spelled that earlier) engine. As seen here;
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fUrB7KRvxUk

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('canuckinczech', 'T')he idea I'm after is avoid using the solar panels and just using the focusing power of the Fresnel lens directly on Stirling(...sorry mis-spelled that earlier) engine. As seen here;
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fUrB7KRvxUk

[davep]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('canuckinczech', 'T')he idea I'm after is avoid using the solar panels and just using the focusing power of the Fresnel lens directly on Stirling(...sorry mis-spelled that earlier) engine. As seen here;
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fUrB7KRvxUk

[oowolf]

Is this what you have in mind?
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9868931-54.html

I don't know if these demonstration units are still manufactured, but they often turn up on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0218340412

[Vegas]

http://www.stirlingenergy.com/default.asp

Heat-based solar collector. Mirrors and engines seem easier to scale up than silicon based stuff, though I could be wrong.

Desperation is the mother of all invention.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Vegas', 'h')ttp://www.stirlingenergy.com/default.asp

Heat-based solar collector. Mirrors and engines seem easier to scale up than silicon based stuff, though I could be wrong.

Desperation is the mother of all invention.

[Vegas]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '
')
The one thing I don't like about stirling engines is the mechanical components. Aside from solar trackers, there is nothing more reliable than photovoltaics because they are completely solid state (except for organic solar cells which have an electrolyte in them).

Rollout of solar beyond a certain scale will be a maintenance nightmare. Imagine hundreds of thousands of these solar collectors spread out over many square miles. There will always be a certain percentage of them breaking down and a long trip required to get to and repair them. You really need something you can set up and largely forget about.