Build Your Own Solar Battery Charger First we need an old window, I got mine from a construction site. Its your basic old nasty basement window. Make sure you wash both sides of the glass well with soap and water and window cleaner, more dust means less light gets through to your solar cells. Next take your multi-meter and sit in a sunny spot (or under a flood lamp) and check all your cells to make sure they get about .5 volts per cell. You do this by gently (cells are REALLY fragile) putting the red on the front (make sure its on the little metal lines) and black on the back (any place) of each cell while it is in the sun. It should say about .5 volts. For this project I used 12 cells but you really only need 6. As you can see they all fit with a lot of room left over, if I wanted to I could have used this window for a larger project but I only need a battery charger for right now. Next we get down to the fun part, soldering. There are two ways to wire power supplies (like batteries or solar cells) together.
Intermittent energy source An intermittent energy source is any source of energy that is not continuously available due to some factor outside direct control. The intermittent source may be quite predictable, for example, tidal power, but cannot be dispatched to meet the demand of a power system. Effective use of intermittent sources in an electric power grid usually relies on using the intermittent sources to displace fuel that would otherwise be consumed by non-renewable power stations, or by storing energy in the form of renewable pumped storage, compressed air or ice, for use when needed, or as electrode heating for district heating schemes. The use of small amounts of intermittent power has little effect on grid operations. Terminology[edit] Several key terms are useful for understanding the issue of intermittent power sources. Intermittency of various power sources[edit] Solar energy[edit] Seasonal variation of the output of the solar panels at AT&T park in San Francisco. Wind energy[edit] Mark Z. Mark A.
Torresol Energy - Gemasolar thermosolar plant Gemasolar is the first commercial-scale plant in the world to apply central tower receiver and molten salt heat storage technology. The relevance of this plant lies in its technological uniqueness, since it opens up the way for new thermosolar electrical generation technology. Characteristics of Gemasolar: Rated electrical power: 19.9 MWNet electrical production expected: 110 GWh/year Solar field: 2,650 heliostats on 185 hectaresHeat storage system: the molten salt storage tank permits independent electrical generation for up to 15 hours without any solar feed. The prolongation of the plant's operating time in the absence of solar radiation and the improvement in efficiency of the use of the heat from the sun makes Gemasolar's output much higher than that which is delivered by other technologies in a facility with the same power. The notable increase in the plant's power efficiency guarantees electrical production for 6,500 hours a year, 1.5 to 3 times more than other renewable energies.
How I built an electricity producing Solar Panel Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona. I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. In my attempt to escape city slicker yuppies (you know the kind, the ones that like to blab loudly on their cell phone while they work on some business administration degree in a cyber cafe somewhere in Trendyland.) and their light pollution, I found a great piece of remote property. I built a wind turbine to provide some power on the remote property. Here is a video of the solar panel set up and in use on my remote, off-grid property. Let me state up front that I probably won't be able to help you out much if you decide to build your own solar panel(s). So what is a solar panel anyway? I started out the way I start every project, by Googling for information on home-built solar panels. After a while, I came to some conclusions: <a href='
Dirty Energy Money | Oil Change International How to build a Solar Panel Top Five Air Powered Vehicles If the Cash for Clunkers incentive wasn’t enough to curb your unsettled feeling about owning a new gas guzzler, you might want to start saving for one of these truly awesome air-powered eco-rides. Sometimes called PHEV (pneumatic-hybrid electric vehicle), these cars are most typically powered by a compressed air engine combined with an electric motor. The engines are similar to steam engines as they use the expansion of externally supplied pressurized gas to perform work against a piston. Don’t settle on a fuel/electric hybrid or a biofuel burning vehicle before you take a look at our list of top 5 air powered vehicles that will soon be available in the United States. 5. For the sports car lover who also wants a zero-pollution vehicle, take note of San Jose Club Auto Sport, who claims to be developing the first Magnetic Air Car. 4. 3. 2. Unveiled at the 2008 New York Auto Show, the OneCat from MDI has a style that may win over the Mini and Smart Car owners. 1.
DIY Thermosyphon Solar System Search The Renewable Energy site for Do-It-Yourselfers System schematic -- Thermosyphon Solar Water Heater As shown in the schematic, when sun is on the Solar Panel, the water in the panel is heated, becomes less dense and rises up into the Storage Tank. Sun and gravity take care of the circulating the water, so no pump is needed. The system as shown here does not have freeze protection, so it must be used in non-freezing climates, or be drained for the winter. Building the Collector I used a roll of aluminum 10 " wide, which I cut to length and fit under the tubes. There is a 3/4 insulation sheet behind the plywood and another thinner plywood on the back to protect the insulation sheet. There are two sheets of sun tuf corrugated polycarbonate on top. For more more construction details on on a similar type of collector construction here... and here... Collector Installation Some more pictures of the finished collector. Storage Tank and Plumbing Click on pictures for full size Results To Date
Syngas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a fuel gas mixture consisting primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and very often some carbon dioxide. The name comes from its use as intermediates in creating synthetic natural gas (SNG)[1] and for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is used when it is gasified and is turned into electricity. Production methods include steam reforming of natural gas or liquid hydrocarbons to produce hydrogen, the gasification of coal,[5] biomass, and in some types of waste-to-energy gasification facilities. Production chemistry[edit] The main reaction that produces syngas, steam reforming, is endothermic with 206 kJ/mol methane needed for conversion. The first reaction, between incandescent coke and steam, is strongly endothermic, producing carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen H 2 (water gas in older terminology). In order to produce more hydrogen from this mixture, more steam is added and the water gas shift reaction is carried out: Alternative technologies[edit]
DIY Solar Panels Mike Davis is an astronomer. To practice his hobby away from the light pollution of cities, he bought some land in a remote part of Arizona. But there was a problem: No electricity. But he's a resourceful fellow. Read on for more photos and some technical details to give you an idea of how he did it. I bought a couple of bricks of 3 X 6 mono-crystalline solar cells. A solar panel is really just a shallow box. Next I cut two pieces of masonite pegboard to fit inside the wells. I laid out the cells on that grid pattern upside-down so I could solder them together. I used a low-wattage soldering iron and fine rosen-core solder. Here's what the solar panel looks like from the front. Here I am testing first half panel outside in the sun. I drilled a hole in the back of the panel near the top for the wires to exit. [...] Here is the finished product, producing 18.8 volts and 3.05 amps in the sun. How much did it cost? Related solar power stories on MNN:
Scientists Discover Wild Solar Energy Effect, Allows Power Without Cells Up until now scientists thought that only the electrical charge separation effects of photons were strong enough to produce energy from sunlight. (Source: Aether Wave Theory) Researchers have discovered a novel new effect which produces energy when intense light passes through an insulating material like glass, creating a strong magnetic field. (Source: Galucci's Catering) New energy harvesting devices would leverage magnetism effects, rather than electric ones Mankind currently only harvests a minuscule fraction of the estimated 12.2 billion kilowatt-hours of solar energy that hits the Earth every day [source]. That's why a new breakthrough in alternative energy at the University of Michigan is so exciting. No, it's not some novel photosynthesis scheme. I. Light has two components -- magnetism and electricity. But Stephen Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics at U of M, was fascinated by this property. II. III.
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