Solar powered thermo-acoustic Stirling Engine

[ashishkulkarni76]

I know some one who is working on a thermoacoustic engine for car exhaust. His idea is to use the heat energy from exhaust gases and run another engine for cooling effect. I question this because I think adding another engine, may be thermoacoustic or Sterling, will add more weight to a car and thus more fuel is required to run the car. The benefit that one might get from using exhaust heat might get lost due to increased weight of the car. I don't know for sure!

[Cre8Thought41]

I'd like someone to come up with a way to convert heat inside my car during the summer. A modified sterling engine? Something has got to be out there. This would earn an inventer a pretty penny.

[advthinker]

Until we are able to get useable energy from any of these solar engines that we see on youtube! we could put them all into the class of the radiometer. we watch it spin and produce nothing! Now lets get busy and make these devices preform a usefull service! like out produce a photo voltaic cell, or pump water. any thing but spin! and make noise.

[Wazztheweasel]

What ?

[boxa888]

iS THE tube at a quarter wave length of the tube, meaning 1/4 th the length where the main ocillations take place, in electricity it helps amplify electricity and current and from what i have read with air tube ocillators its the same, 1/4 of the wave means the highest point of energy where another "strike" of energy can be added and efficiently create a larger output in any device electrical or mechanical.

[7olusegun]

@crashfridh Thanx for the explanation.

[trainedproblemsolver]

It seems quieter than others, great work!

[AkinaGod]

How much electricity will this generate?

[realisticHomeboy]

I was there.

[doormagic]

how many HP?

[bazengao]

does that catches ESPN??

[xombiedeth]

@bazengao Hahaha, yes! The perfect source of energy. Converting paid-programming into useable, clean electricity!

[grumhellscream]

very neat engine. just be careful that those oil co.s will hunt you down :P

[dcrits]

1967geezer, great engine, are the flywheels pressed on or can they be exchanged with bigger ones?

Thanks...

[Raminagrobisfr]

neat work ! Have you tried to measure the power output?

[jakobnev]

Where do you get a dish like that?

[1967geezer]

@jakobnev Edmund optics

[7olusegun]

I guess the piston is the vibrator?

[1967geezer]

@7olusegun I admit to not really knowing how it works... :-/

[Prometheus1st]

How about a Geo-Thermal Sterling Ran power plant instead of a Geo-Thermal Steam power plant? Seems like it would be more simple to maintain to me. And- Geo Thermal doesn't stop when the sun goes down.

Also, couldn't you run a Sterling from virtually any extreme temperature difference to power a generator? By example...the same idea/physics that would power a Geo-Therm Sterling power plant would also work in very "COLD" places like Alaska, and the extreme North and South areas of our planet.

[Signmacula]

how much does it wiegh?

[TheAviator8]

HOLY SOLAR POWERED THERMO_ACCOUSTIC STIRLING ENGINES BATMAN!

[terrybrookman]

Nothing is free, a basic law in physicists but we can get what we need if we try. Forget 110 a/c wire your house for 36 volt off the shelf boat equipment, except rewire them with LED's. There is all kinds of things for boats like ovens, refrigeration, water pumps. We need to think small in our use of power and make devices to fit what we need.

[pic16F88]

He Geezer Can you tell a bit more about the dimensions. How big is your test tube and what are the dimensions of you restictor ??

Manny thnx in advance.

Keep up the good work !!

[sycamoreultimate]

Admittedly, still wicked though.

[sycamoreultimate]

you mean thermal stirling engine. not thermo-acoustic.

[breezebro]

Was that Charlie Chaplin?

[giacotey]

il piu bello nice,nice,nice"!

[tsport100]

Put an actual LOAD on it!

[Stepanfo1]

@tsport100 Load? These toys usually produce just fractions of one watt.

[UnitTheWorld]

maybe show how it works, cause I don't get it..

[starstarstar42]

It's a Sterling Engine. The energy captured by the dish causes a heat differential (usually in a fluid, sometimes a gas) that drives the piston.

[kurisu925]

Basically it heats and cools air around a piston in such a way that it pushes it back and forth with enough force to turn a fly wheel. It is only as strong as the difference between the hot and cold ends... so not particularly powerfull but it can turn a generator. If you had one big enough you could provide power to a few hundred homes off of it but it can not start from a complete stop and it needs the heat it is collecting from the sun to work so clouds can ruin its day rather quickly.

[rillip3]

Great engineering here, that looks really professional.

[mladenkorotaj]

very cool job,nice

[pic16F88]

Hey Geezer, great project !! Please post more vids of this one so we can see more of it !! I`m also verry intressed of where you obtained the mirror .. or did yoiu make it ?? Also what material are your piston and cilinder made from ??

Manny thnx in advance

[MrXstacey]

Good job on that, I've always been curious of how much resistance can it withstand, obviously for conversion to another medium, more specifically electricity.

[gugocappet]

good fan from this

[FLABERGAG]

Would you get more energy out of this than a run of the mill Solar cell?

[sycamoreultimate]

Solar cells are limited to a theoretical efficiency of ~24% and a practical efficiency not much higher than 12 or 13%. In theory, these efficiencies depend on temperature. For example, if you generate 125C you can get 25ish%. If you generate 400C (a general target for solar systems) you can, in theory, get 55ish%.  My guess is this one is around 75-100C.

[ght1992]

eselente prototipo de un motor solar solo conunos ajustes mas se podria poner un generador de electricidad y generaria mas que una selda solar

[floatncoffee]

THAT is supercool

[KyleKoehler1]

Go to website for "inifiniacorp" to see the production version of this that produces 3kw of electricity.

It is already in production.

[mrenergyfarmer]

And you have to order 1 mega watt worth of them so are they available to the public !?

[xodarap]

Bravo!!! - this sort of thing, combined with a smallish wind generator will go a long way towards making rural communities energy independent.

[SVKmellow]

where is the cooler :O?

[tabatj]

Very nice design!  You should post instructions.

[joli78363]

works off of heat , what about night time ??, e mail with the answer!!! anybody!!

[mico2020]

doesn't work .. u store energy into batteries and use them at night

[KenMacMillan]

hence the solar part of the name solar powered

[KyleKoehler1]

joli go to infiniacorp website to see the working production version of this idea by infinia.

It only works during day... this example doesn't produce any energy... but the infinia corp has created a version to create electricity.

[Hemant2905]

Hey thanks,

I have checked their website. It is impressive.

[MONKEYGUY8504]

What kind of power does it produce?

[TrollingAround]

Nice - it's the way forward :-)

[VolkgartenBySquirrel]

This is WAYYY doable - thanks very much for putting this up. You don't have to be in the boonies either.

[spystealth]

man,i'm an inventor and that inspired me so much.This rocks!

[1freedomfighter1]

awesome

[518schenectady]

i think more people woul dhave renewable energy if u didnt have to pay 10 thousand dollars to hook into the grid or spend thousands on batteries. someone needs to come up with a way we can just plug a solar panel into an outlet an the electric company gets it and reimburses us. i rent but i would buy a small solar panel a week if that was the case.slowly tearing apart my electric bill until they were paying me. if it was only easier hooking into the grid or storing the power.

[muzzthegreat]

@518schenectady - hey I am sure Schenetady is now not checking their comments : but in many countries now for a small outlay you can get Solar PV on your roof : EG Australia : $1,700 Up-Front gets 1.5 kW PhotoVoltaic on your roof - back to grid with reimbursement - not all countries are doing it of course.

[muzzthegreat]

@518schenectady - hey I am sure Schenectady is now not checking their comments : but in many countries now for a small outlay you can get Solar PV on your roof : EG Australia : $1,700 Up-Front gets 1.5 kW PhotoVoltaic on your roof - back to grid with reimbursement - not all countries are doing it of course.

[MrLazyeyz]

@518schenectady most states have laws saying ou msut [sell]to them any enrgy you dont use[and]you may not be self contained.[off the grid] you could be sued ,jailed etc.

[Maxdwolf]

@MrLazyeyz Laws against being off the grid? I call bs. Cite such a law or admit you made it up.

There is actually a federal law dating to 1978 requiring utilites to by back power from qualified facilities.

[saltydog3822]

@518schenectady

I know this post is old...

but they do that now in Canada (in Ontario), the power company buys your solar power off you.

[beowulf500ad]

@518schenectady I forgot the name of the company but they developed a wind turbine that you could just plug into an outlet and it would work like you are talking about.

[vhbeazel]

I think thermo acoustic is the way to go; our energytalk group has started a discussion on pickensplan to encourage research in this area of science.

we also invite anyone who wants to discuss an invention or an idea to join our radio shows about energytalk on BlogTalkRadio.

[offgrid2010]

Awesome use of a tripod! Good work.

[atlanticus]

problems with these machines are that they are mechanical (can be broken) and noisy this makes them very inpractical compared to solar panels

[moondog999]

easier to make than solar panels :) nice and low tech

[atlanticus]

solar panels are easier to produce in the fab, and the process can be scaled up, also this thing needs to track the sun, tracking can be very difficult, also it is a mechanical thing (can be broken) and noisy.. etc. etc.

[0vrqq]

Believe it or not this is cheaper than a solar panel. If I am not mistake you have to buy solar panels every 5 years. If I am also not mistaken "popular mechanics" magazine has rated these things the most efficient solar device, including non machine, with an efficiency rating of about 30 percent. Now tell me which is better a trough which gets you 24 percent solar panel with 14 percent or this design with 30 percent. I would say the mirror and the sterling engine.

[atlanticus]

Efficiency? Google the new special coating for solar panels or other recent breakthrough in solar panel tech. Solar panels can be mass produced in the fab, they do not need elaborate sun tracking, no need for mechanical parts that can broke, no noise, no special power conversions.. etc. This thing have non of those advantages, only disadvantages.

[0vrqq]

well lets see here what is better a coal plant a solar plant. I don't really give what creates the effect just so long as it is off coal. And yes a breakthrough has happend with sterling engines. thermo-electrochemical converter I believe it is called. It claims no moving parts. look under "Top 10 New World-Changing Innovations of the Year (With Videos!)". some of it is about his history just keep reading on.

[Bazzelmeister]

Solar panels need to have a sun tracking system for maximum efficiency too. The biggest problem with the stirling engine is that it does contain moving parts... this leads to friction, reduced efficiency and wear on parts. Thermoacoustic stirling engines have less moving parts, and could be used in cooling air (air-con) among other industrial cryogenic uses, thus, reducing overall energy use (as a society).

[ResinRat2]

It is a very beautiful unit. Nice looking craftsmanship. Thanks for showing it.

[starstarstar42]

I love sterling engines, but their downfall is they have dismal torque output. Connect a drive shaft or belt to the one shown in the video and the axle speed would drop from kilometers per hour to meters per hour. They definitely have a place as battery chargers in low Kw generators, such as for boats, but until some radical advancement in the technology is made, you will never see them as car engines, as city power sources, or even as supplements to home energy systems that use pure solar.

[angelpagan121201]

GM make a car whith a sterling engine NASA and Ford (among others) built Stirling engines for cars back in the 1970's

[Traqr]

Not quite true: Stirling engines can have massive torque (ie. Kockums nuclear submarines) but the torque is directly related to the resting engine pressure and temperature differential. Since nobody has figured out a simple way to quickly change either the pressure or the temperature, you can't change torque quickly. So accelerating from a stop would take a long time, and (worse!) the engine would continue to push after you took your foot off the pedal!

[starstarstar42]

Re: Traqr's comment about torque. Its true they "could" theoretically produce great torque, but as you point out in practical terms it relies on changing either the pressure or temperature quickly. We lack the technology to rapidly change one or the other without expending more energy than we get back from the Stirling cycle to begin with. It reminds me of the saying about electric cars; "it can go very fast, or it can go very far, but it can't do both".

[Traqr]

You're confusing output with response. They are used in submarines, and were originally designed to replace steam engines in locomotives and industrial plants. They approach tubine efficiency in large steady-state output, but they're terrible as "demand" engines like in a car. Some people have suggested using low-power versions as chargers in a series-hybrid vehicle, but I don't know of any to date.

[blackXSpr]

Electric cars can go fast and far, big oil juts wont let them.

[dannyknapp]

I think you are missing the point. It is not to put a Solar/Stirling engine in a car. It is to put one in your backyard and drive a generator or air compressor with it. then use the stored electricity or compressed air to power your car. If you store up enough electricity or enough psi/cfm of air you can develop plenty of torque.

[Traqr]

We're still missing eash other, but I think it's terminology rather than concept;

Torque: How hard can it twist?

Speed: How fast can it go?

Energy: How much work can it do? (torque x distance)

Power: How fast can it do that work? (torque x speed)

Response: How quickly can it change its output?

Efficiency: Of the initial energy available to it, how much becomes useful energy?

[GetMeThere1]

Is stirling >> electricity more efficient than solar panell >> electricity? (and by efficiency I'm referring to size of sunlight collecting surface)

[dannyknapp]

when the fuel source is free do you really care about efficiency ? the sun is free that is the point. If gasoline was free would you care if your car got 10 or 50 miles per gallon ?  now to answer your question, the photovoltaic is more efficient with current technology.

[GetMeThere1]

Ignoring costs, it still matters which is more efficient--in regard to how much area that's necessary to be covered with heat-collectors/panels.

These things will count for the most when families can use them in their own yards. The amount of area needed will be a factor.

[dannyknapp]

Okay, I see your point.  I'm out here in the boonies on 80 acres of land and I forget that sometimes. good point.

[dannyknapp]

an exciting technology is the film solar panels. should be way cheaper than photovoltaic and no silicon. should be able to incorporate them into roof panels. other ways to incorporate solar into roof design. simple air channels with small fans can heat in winter and cool in summer. lots of common sense ideas going.

[biketouristpodcast]

Infinia's system will produce 3 Kw of AC power, just one dish alone. This can power a a small home with no need for inverters and batteries. You would need 20 150W solar panels to produce 3 Kw of DC power which you would need to convert to AC, loosing some energy in the transfer.

[rrt123456]

I Agree. Even if it was as big as a utility shed and only put out 10HP for 8 hours a day, I'd take it. Given that the input fuel is free solar heat, I'd find some way to make use of the output.

[cold356]

and they say there is no free energy

[ssnakeydnb]

if you paid taxes for using the sun's energy, would that still be labeled as free in your conception? Free energy is the same as alchemy.

[Messokori]

If I paid taxes to use light as energy, I'd consider blinding myself as acceptable behavior.

[ssnakeydnb]

anyways, the stirling concept is neat :D

[dundermiflinpaper]

could some one explane how this works? i am very familiar with stirling engines that have a displacer, and have made a few, but could someone show me a link or explan how this runs. i would like to make one in the near futer,but cannot find anything on the internet.thank you

[tirapelli]

can you explain how you use the sound in the production of energy?

[solararity]

thats great stuff dude

[quickerest]

I believe the steam engine is not as ideal and salt could be used as a storage system to maintain the heat for extended time periods so the sterling engine could run long after the sun has dropped.

[vqdset]

search "Concentratore solare da parabola satellitare" an experiment of italian student in 2006.

[michanger]

People, if you go to wikipedia and type in "stirling engine" you will see that stirling engines are an efficient alternative to solar panels, and solar power plants today use the same technology shown in the video.

[chrishibbert20]

I wonder if it generates more power than same size solar panel? that is the issue? or more than focusing the sun on salt melted to make steam as currently used?

[mattmg84]

One of the points of this is that you can build quite a few for the price of a single solar panel.

[chrishibbert20]

They are not efficient are they? heat in for work out? Petrol engines are quite cheap and powerfull but waste a lot of heat, I have heard 4 strokes are approx 36% efficient.

[mattmg84]

In theory they are the "perfect" engine but of course in the real world you have to deal with friction, heat loss, resistance etc...

[agenttachyon]

If you lose the flywheel and connect the piston rod to a solenoid and the displacer rod to an air spring you'll eliminate most of the mechanical problems right there (it's called a free-piston engine).

[1967geezer]

In a thermoacoustic engine there is no displacer, only a power piston.

[JoeShmoeBlow]

waste of time if you ask me

[pantadon]

Someone should definitely not ask you then, because you're quite wrong. The two largest solar power plants in history are being build in California, both Sterling Engine plants. Each of the reflective mirrors transmits to a swirling engine, creating 30KW. One plant alone near LA will be creating energy enough for 1,000,000 homes. So, no, it's not a waste of time. Course, Nuclear is a good way to go too, but too much hysteria over the negative propaganda. Guess people would rather have smog

[pdxxjjeep]

Negative propaganda?? Nuclear is a terrible source of energy because of the waste it creates. Everyone will argue the waste is reusable. But no one is reusing it. Its a terrible gift to the future of the world.

[gangstabrutha]

you got that right...if its reusable then why dont i have plutonium in my computer?? 30000000ghz plutonium proccesor >:O

[praetorious]

France has a nuclear waster re-enrichment program.

[xombiedeth]

@pantadon Nuclear would be a good way to go, except they're too expensive to build and decommission. When we find an alternative to nuclear power, people are going to be very hesitant to replace the nuclear power plants with the new alternative, because it's so expensive. We'll end up keeping nuclear power around long after it isn't needed anymore.

[joness105639]

any idea how to scale this up big enough to run a radio station in the democratic republic of congo using a combination of local materials and things that can fit aboard a small plane?

[PKMartin]

You'd need a reflector dish the size of the Jodrell Bank telescopes and a huge engine. These things are very cool but they are also very inefficient. This probably only produces about a watt, at most, so for a radio station you'd need one thousands of times bigger. Look into PV panels, wind turbines and biomass for a more realistic plan.

[joness105639]

PV systems are very expensive and then when the batteries wear out disposal and replacement becomes a MAJOR problem. It is in a forrested area so wind is unreliable. While they have plenty of chaff and mud and wood around they need a way to use this for energy instead of gasoline or deisel fuel which is very hard to come by and expensive. The stirling engine seemed like the solution.

[RichardRoy2]

I agree with leitermann. I see these things all the time, but they never have them doing something usefull. I'm guessing there's not enough power.

[joness105639]

there is no substitute for cubic inches!

[natony0please]

why not a black tube?

[PKMartin]

The engine runs on hot air inside the tube, so it's vital to keep as much heat as you can inside the hot part- a black glass tube would waste heat to the atmosphere. It looks like he's got some black beads or something inside the tube.

[leitermann]

I could use that thing for my bike. How much power does it produce though? You should hook it up to something, it seems a waste to just let it spin without actually using all that free energy. My suggestion: stick it in your front yard & hook it up to an electric marquee that gives regular updates on gas prices, & then solar prices ($0 a gallon)

[ArnoldVeeman]

Now with nanosolarpanels and letting collect that tiny wheel electrostatic energy through a capacitor and it might produce overunity or at least usefull potention

[leitermann]

A *flux* capacitor perhaps?

[enadon1]

beautiful engine!

[ruggsterg]

That is just cool! Thanks for sharing it. I wanted to try to build a Stirling for awhile but just have never gotten around to it. You seem to have perfected them. I have only seen a few of your videos but your engines are well made. Thanks!

[thoxbui]

Very elegant! What do you use for the stack material? I suppose if you scale it up, the RPM will go down because of the longer wavelength...right? Nice, nice work!

[1967geezer]

The stack is stainless steel pot scourer. Yes, the rpm goes down the longer the tube is.

[thoxbui]

Hi, thanks for the reply. I _think_ the stainless steel is properly referred to as the regenerator. I suspect then that the engine doesn't use a stack (which often is a block of ceramic with a whole bunch of holes drilled through). Nice video. BTW, the acoustic refers to the periodic change in pressure that makes the engine work. the principle is reversible so that you can apply sound (acoustic) to cause a delta in temperature. You can wikipedia for details, thermoacoustic refridgeration.

[jhwtech]

thermo-acoustic?

acoustic?

What dose it have to do with acoustics?

[wow190677]

Good qeustion....where is the accoustic part?

[1967geezer]

To be honest I don't know. Stirling engine expert Roy Darlington calls these thermo-acoustic engine so that's why I do.

[mtech]

can you construct the wheels with magnets so it can act as a rotor then enclose within a housing to make it produce electricity?

[1967geezer]

Yes, that would be possible.

[ViciousCritic]

That's awesome. I've wanted to build one of those for a long time, but you did and you did it beautifully.

[1967geezer]

Thank you.

[rasoros]

very nice craftsmanship, looks nice and the action is smooooth

[1967geezer]

Thank you.

[aflacduky]

sweet! love it you could power a small ipod easy

[johnnypeppo]

Hi Friends. Could someone help me to find components to make a similar STIRLING engine? I will appreciate every suggestion or web-link... Here in Italy this kind of energy solution is not diffused... Greetings and Wishes for a better new year... Johnnypeppo.

[1967geezer]

e-b-a-y is a good place for materials...

[Marisaftwffs]

HOW MUCH FOR IT?

[Bigjohnnywad]

$9.95 you fuktard...

[sunwindwaterenergy]

excellent toy variation on the solar-concentrator powered sterling..now upscale the size+number of pistons and add a dc motor and your in business like the big boyz r doing right now.

[NanetteW]

sunwindwaterenergy

amazing how you can insult while trying to look like you're complementing.

If you found out this person was, say, 65 years old, would you apologize for your lack of etiquette?

maybe those are his grandkids screaming and fighting in the background.

''like the big boyz'' ... geez.

[gsusman]

NanetteW

it is possible that sunwindwaterenergy was not trying to insult or lack etiquette. Maybe "big boyz" was a reference to big business, not older people. Just a thought.

[1967geezer]

Thank you, i'm 40 and those screaming kids are the neighbours... :)

[checkmatedeepblue]

Amazing! Can it works effectively more than the case of an electric mortor with a solar battery?

[greatestdirectorisme]

Oh sweet little laser RPM measuring gadget thingy! Where oh where can one purchase such a magical device?

[jkid1190]

idk, u might be able to find it at like a hobby store or a hardware store or something, but that's just a guess. if all else fails, search the internet

[1967geezer]

gyroscopedotcom...

[hobofreakchild]

how do you make one of these easily/cheaply? i have an aluminum parabola so...

[2Shye]

surely this has to be cheaper than photo voltaics given that you can scale it up the dish without any need for expensive silicone.

[userlaalaa]

Oh I might add - could you maybe compress hydrogen in the formula? Hydrogen reacts greatly with heat so the result would be more RPM and higher torque.

[userlaalaa]

Nice! Cant believe im the first to comment on this. Maybe people don't know that sterling engines are one of the most efficient ways to produce energy.

[lothre]

ya, and if companies like Sempra Energy have their way, people STILL wont know what a sterling engine can do.

Sunpower inc. is making progress at least.