Low Cost Solar Power

[magna59]

So you re using the water / steam ..... so how are you going to lub the turbine ? To keep it out of the steam.

[redisk]

i cannot find your current site for updates so I thought Id ask here. How much farther have you gotten into this being either production ready or easily set up for novices

[enticed2zeitgeist]

Do the boilers get fed fresh water from a pump somewhere? How does the fresh water feeding into the boilers not lower the temperature of the water that is already boiling?

[thorargent]

@enticed2zeitgeist The condensate from the steam is recycled by a small piston pump into the boilers. This maintains the temperature very closely to the boiling point. In testing this was an open system but in a production system this would be a closed cycle device.

[ramgueta]

the sound of the success 4:00

congratulations

[007sofian]

costfull ??

[thorargent]

@007sofian if we can set up production, I expect that the cost will start at two dollars per watt and fall to about a dollar per watt as our methods get better.

[acclivitous77]

carefull with all that venting... you may melt/deform the lenses!

[batawaleravindra]

Respond to this video...

[GetMeThere1]

When you say that your 10 lenses collect 14 Kw, do you mean that, while the sun is shining you could produce 14Kw of electrical energy? Thus, if you ran it for 2 hours it could produce 28Kw-hours of power? If so, that's enough to power the typical home for 24 hours, correct?

I'm supposing, then, that you designed your array to be about the right size needed to fully power a home 24/365, figuring about 3 hrs sun/ day. Is that right?

[thorargent]

@GetMeThere1 In reality there is only 6 kilowatts of usable power from the system because nothing is 100% efficient. It must run for 5 hours to produce enough to run the average home. Our goal is of course efficiency but the higher goal is low cost. So we work at the tradeoff of cost versus power. lower efficiency is acceptable if it does not take your whole yard and cost you a fortune. Cost per watt is the key.

[186282plus1]

This is a school project? Whoa, I can clearly see that I went to the wrong college. This is a fantastic project, very practical with real world applications galore. I enjoy your shear creative genius on this Frezno lens array to steam to Electricity gradget. I'm sure it saves a wack of cash compared to those over priced poor efficiency solar panels. I know there are losses, but what's your efficiency with this setup? Again, I'm absolutely impressed with your creativity.

[bret354]

i am wondering if you have plans, and cost. also actual output power.

[MihiLibertas]

thats a lot of junked big screen TV's.

[thorargent]

Actually the lenses were purchased new. You can get them from a number of vendors.

[boxa888]

@thorargent man i had a projection tv and my dad thought it was junk and crushed it for junk on accident, do u know anywhere where i can get large fresnel lenses like the projection screen ones cheaply? thanks alot, amazing work,

[thorargent]

So... do you really think the turbine is spinning out in the open like a food chopper? You really need to think about what you are saying here. The production system is a small, completely sealed unit. Normally, that would go without saying. Clearly, I have overestimated the ability of some to think.

[petehanse]

OH yeah real convenient , can u imagine working iunde the hood of your car with the small trubine spinning....PERSONALLY I will just PLUG in the Light! Good Old PSE&G LOL!

[thorargent]

You must have a power storage system such as batteries, flywheels, or compressed air. The UPS on a computer does the same thing so your computer does not shut down when the power fails. Alternative energy systems either use storage, or you are connected to the grid and sell power back.

[GershonH]

Sir, I am new to all of this. How could one harness this power source to be used at night?