Eco-Challenge!! Plastic Mirrors

What's the best use for over 50 salvaged plastic mirror tiles? You tell me! The best suggestion will actually get put to use as my next eco-project. Bonus points for cheap, practical, creative, and eco-friendly!

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• mirror
• eco
• eco-challenge
• contest
• solar
• PV
• DIY

[hectorimeza1]

How can i get some plastic mirrors?

[BenjaminNelson]

@hectorimeza1

I got these from working in a store that was being remodeled. They are from the suspended ceiling, used for security. You can buy plastic mirrors as well, but salvaging them is a lot more fun!

[WillMahoney]

Way to be, Ben!

1. For a solar hot water heater - mirrors all direct sun to point at a tank of water.

2. Inside of an indoor plant growing room - to help reflect light around the room.

3. Replace those heavy glass mirrors on the Electro-Metro.

4. Built a modified light-tube skylight, but it would be square-shaped instead of tubular.

And what the hell is stuck to your truck? Are you shooting this with an iPhone?

[BenjaminNelson]

I shot this video with a Flip Ultra HD camera.

It's about the size of a cell-phone. However, it doesn't have a viewfinder that flips around to face forward for filming yourself, so I put a scrap of plastic mirror behind it so I could see myself on the camera.

[WillMahoney]

The video out of that little camera looks really good. How has the camera worked out for you?

[BenjaminNelson]

It's a great little camera for just what I used it for - point it at something, then load it to the internet. It has no real zoom, no mice jack, and it's auto-everything.

On the other hand, it's all digital and has no moving parts. It's a great camera for certain specific uses. So far, it has worked very well for a web cam. I also used it for the "Ride in an Electric Car" video.

[Jm4steam]

Place tiles inside of home. Find key areas to reflect light into darker areas. Reflect light from windows during the day, reflect light from lamps at night. Solar tube through the roof??

[antiLeixo]

nice ideia :D

[onechesthair]

Another vote for Solar Ovens. The latest issue of National Geographic highlights solar ovens. Get a group to donate time to make solar oven kits, then donate them to an org in places such as Nepal, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Peru etc. There are so many + repercussions, environmentally, economically, healthwise, safety, socially and more with a simple solar oven!

[bret354]

build a reflective mirror to power a steam powered generator hopefully with enough energy to power your house.

[n2confusion]

build a solar powered refrigeration unit. take 4" pvc pipe add your parabola and a well insulated box you are able to build a cold storage unit with out using electricity it would not need a compressor. that can be set up in remote locations for like a red cross station somewhere. its called and absorbtion system. easy to build and can also be built cheap. it will have ammonia for the refrigerant and use a hand powered vacuum pump. meds can be stored in remote areas with no acess to power.

[mmaf1]

TROUGH MIRROR Parabolic Parabola Reflector Solar Water Heater Boil Water with the Sun.

I have seen this on GREENPOWERSCIENCE .Maybe you could make your ,Larger version

[hollow82]

Archimedes Death ray- good idea, watch mythbusters how they tried to do it. but you could point it upwards i think, and put labirynth of hoses with water in the point of concentration of sunlight, (to heat water).or have you seen christmas lanterns with candels(with sort of turbine or the proppeler on top which rotates, when you light the candles cause of the hot air rising from candles),You could make somthing like this with "Archimedes Death ray" i guess, but in larger scale