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From YouTube: $1/Watt Solar Thermal Concentrator Steam Powered Electric Generator - Open Source Ecology
Description
Here is a program for what it takes to achieve a $1/watt solar thermal concentrator electric generator, better than solar panels! Critique it on the weblog - at http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=507
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A
Welcome
factory
live
distillation
is
part
8.
Today's
episode
is
on
a
solar
power,
a
solar
thermal
concentrator
SDC,
electric
system.
Conceptually
the
system
is
quite
simple:
heat
from
the
Sun
is
concentrated
by
reflecting
mirrors
onto
a
collector.
The
heat
boils
water
in
the
collector
tube
and
as
and
the
resulting
steam
is
used
to
run
a
steam
engine.
A
70%
of
the
energy
in
the
United
States
is
generated
by
steam
power
in
large
power
plants
which
use
fuel
to
boil
water.
We
aim
to
use
the
Sun
in
our
case
we're
presenting
this
video
to
explain
the
solar
power
generator,
how
it
could
be
feasible
on
a
small
scale
and
how
we
plan
to
do
it
will
be
hosting
the
second
convergence
at
factory
farm.
To
do
this,
everyone
loves
solar
energy.
Did
you
know
that
the
solar
power
coming
to
the
earth
is
eight
thousand
times
larger
than
the
total
energy
use
on
entire
earth?
A
This
means
that
there's
plenty
of
energy,
but
the
trick
is
to
capture
it
into
a
useful
form.
That's
where
solar
concentrators
are
used.
In
fact,
you
can
see
videos
on
YouTube
that
show
solar,
concentrators
melting
right
through
steel.
So
why
doesn't
everybody
have
a
solar
collector
to
power
their
house
and
save
an
average
of
a
thousand
dollars
per
year
and
Bill's
if
you're
talking
about
the
United
States?
The
reason
is
that
harnessing
solar
power
is
too
expensive
by
present
standards,
though
this
is
now
changing.
Solar
thermal
concentrator
power
is
actually
economically
feasible.
A
Indeed,
austra
has
claimed
that,
with
its
collectors
combined
with
16
hour
thermal
storage,
it
could
provide
all
the
power
for
the
entire
USA
at
the
same
time
that
there
is
no
small-scale
version
of
Austria
for
individual
homes.
We're
proposing
an
open-source
system,
that's
feasible
on
the
small
scale,
we're
interested
in
the
linear,
Fornell
reflector
configuration
just
like
Austria
we're
talking
of
a
set
of
60
foot,
long
slats,
six
inches
wide.
Sixteen
of
these
pointed
to
a
collector
tube
for
sixteen
fold
concentration.
A
The
collector
tube
has
a
parabolic
shroud
that
adds
another
three
times
concentration
for
about
48
fold:
concentration
total.
This
array
runs
east
to
west
for
sixty
feet
on
his
15
feet.
Wide
in
the
north-south
direction,
each
slat
is
controlled
by
an
individual
tracking
motor
electronics.
Today
make
this
cheap
and
effective,
plus
we'll
be
using
a
steam
engine,
we'll
be
capturing
48,
kilowatts
of
solar
intercept
and
on
paper
we're
getting
an
overall
efficiency
of
47%
for
the
collectors,
after
detailed
calculations
and
15%
for
steam
for
the
steam
engine
to
get
7%
overall
efficiency.
A
We
are
aware
of
the
immediate
critique
of
this
proposition.
We
know
that
this
cost
figure
is
highly
suspect
to
just
about
any
critic
who
is
familiar
with
basic
knowledge
of
solar
concentrators
agreed.
So
here
are
the
points
that
need
to
be
achieved
for
us
to
deliver
the
predicted
cost.
First,
we
need
to
develop
the
single
reflector,
slat
mirror
mounting
and
rotation
control
at
seven
dollars,
material
cost
for
ten
foot,
slat
or
17
dollars.
If
we
include
the
mirrors
at
$2,
a
square
foot
see
our
work.
A
The
strategy
for
this
is
to
have
a
small
motor
on
each
slat
plus
feedback,
electronics
that
sense
the
location
of
reflected,
light
on
the
collector
tube
and
make
ongoing
adjustments
for
focusing
light
on
the
collector.
While
a
linkage
of
multiple
slats
controlled
by
one
motor
sounds
easier
to
do,
it
appears
from
our
research
that
is
insufficient
to
align
all
of
the
all
of
the
reflectors
at
one
time
and
why
bother
cheap
electronics?
Allow
you
to
do
individual
control.
A
The
sure
bet
is
individually
controlled,
reflectors
with
feedback
for
adjustment,
not
a
pre-programmed
solar
tracking
path.
The
second
point
of
development
is
the
collector
tube
assembly.
We
need
an
explicit
design
that
addresses
radiation,
conduction
and
heat
loss
from
the
collector
collection
tube.
A
Basically,
we
need
to
have
the
assembly
trap,
all
the
heated
it
can
and
the
collector
tube.
The
third
part
is
the
collector
tube
feed
water
for
the
solar
application.
Valving
is
a
solution
because
it
requires
much
less
energy
to
operate,
then
a
feed
water
pump.
This
means
an
order
of
watts
instead
of
hundreds
of
watts.
This
means
that
we'll
have
hundreds
of
watts
more
usable
power.
A
Another
company
which
is
currently
developing
a
solar
thermal
generator,
is
also
using
valve
valving
for
exactly
the
same
reason,
and
indeed
claims
that
as
its
key
to
success,
the
fourth
part
is
perhaps
the
most
important
of
the
steam
engine
itself.
These
are
available
for
about
fourteen
hundred
dollars
for
a
five
horsepower
engine
suitable
for
our
purposes.
Our
goal
is
to
produce
these
from
scrap
metal
by
casting
and
machining
with
digital
fabrication
assist
for
an
engine
cost
of
a
hundred
fifty
dollars
in
materials.
A
This
is
very
ambitious,
but,
given
that
most
of
the
scrap
steel
required
for
this
costs
only
ten
dollars,
we
think
that
this
will
be
feasible
with
digital
fabrication.
As
we
discussed
a
bit
in
factory
life
distillation,
part
six
v
development
point
is
up
trying
to
control
for
the
steam
engine.
This
may
be
the
holy
grail
of
high-performance
steam
power
for
solar
applications.
A
The
above
steam
engine
is
simplified
with
a
major
modern
advancement
electronically,
controlled
steam
injection
arduino
based
electronics
will
control
a
valve
that
controls
the
steam
feed
to
optimize
steam
usage.
This
is
not
only
a
simplification,
but
also
an
efficiency
boost
from
the
research.
Today
we
found
that
no
off
shell
valves
are
suitable
for
steam
engine.
This
means
we
have
to
develop
an
open-source
steam
valve
with
this
particular
purpose.
A
A
Vii
development
point
is
steam
cycle
integration
from
water
injection
to
the
collector
tube
to
the
engine
steam
injection
to
cooling
and
heat
recovery.
This
completes
the
project.
The
above
materials
budget
is
a
little
under
three
thousand
dollars.
In
summary,
we
have
shown
detailed
calculations
of
forty
seven
percent
for
collector
efficiency,
which
you
can
check
and
a
steam
engine
performance
is
expected
to
be
sixteen
percent
based
on
empirical
data
altogether.
This
comes
out
to
a
seven
percent
system-
efficiency,
a
modest
but
sufficient
result.
A
The
plan
is
therefore
to
get
the
team
together
for
the
second
solar
convergence
at
factory
farm
August,
1st,
through
the
31st
2009
for
the
entire
month
of
August.
Until
the
system
is
complete,
we'll
do
the
reflectors
and
collector
tube
and
we'll
have
the
steam
engine
by
them
for
system
integration.
We
are
calling
this
convergence
open,
solar,
we're
assembling
teams
for
each
of
the
seven
development
areas,
above
plus
a
marketing
team,
go
to
the
wiki
and
join
up.
A
You
will
be
able
to
replicate
this
from
detailed
documentation
and
we
can
provide
key
components.
We
also
aim
to
provide
a
complete
kit
to
you
for
about
forty
five
hundred
dollars
or
about
1.5
dollars
per
watt.
We
aim
to
have
the
steam
engine
for
two
hundred
fifty
dollars
as
a
turnkey
product
and
we'll
see
how
far
we'll
get
with
and
get
with
that
for
now
tell
your
friends
about
open,
solar
and
join
one
of
the
development
teams
before
then.
This
is
only
a
brief
intro
to
the
project.