In case youre basing that on what you need to boil a kettle, there are
600w kettles about. Slower but work ok for 2 cups. A full kettle gets
rather slow.
Solar steam generators were around long before PV. I saw a pic of one
built in 1934. Issues are:
- parabolic concentrating reflectors are large structures that need
supporting by a heavyish frame, on a turntable.
- the boiler runs at pressure, bringing issues of safety and sometimes
legality.
In fact I was planning on useing Stirling cycle generators, simple
because you do not need to gasify anything, but obviously the higher the
tempreture differential you can generate the better the equipment will
work, so high preasure water was what I was thinking.
Besides which, and I am still having trouble getting my head around a
parabolic steam generator, I understand, as ridiculous as it seams that
the same equipment can get below ambient tempeature at knight if you
point it into blank sky, so you can refrigerate water by night and heat
water by day, so having a heat sink and a cold sink from whichto draw
power.
- low steam engine efficiency means that a reasonablky sized generator
wont have spectacular electricity output. Yes it works, but theyre not
energy gold mines.
Well, I was not planning on using steam per se, or at least if I did I
would use a Striling engine as a condense to extract even more heat from
the remaining steam.
For space heating, flat panels are simpler easier and cheaper, but no
doubt a huge rotating mirror would be more fun.
Well, yes. But besides which, a joint system may be more use.
If you want an easier option than a giant parabolic, google for the
infinite furnace made from CDs. ISTR concentrations of 1000+ from very
basic materials and methods. The one downside is CDs degrade under UV,
so better reflectors are wanted for long term use.
I will look that up, sounds interesting. I use aluminium foil in
cooking, and I suppose I could always clean it and reuse it to cover
CD's.
Finally the type with a stationary target can be used for night
lighting by concentrating moonlight and aiming it into the house.
Now there is an idea, many thanks.
--
Kind regards
Benedict White
Please note that my email address is not checked regularly and will be used for
harvesting UCE. If you want to email me work out my address from the following,
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