Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
"New" Solar Dish Could Transform Energy Production
(source: FOX NEWS) A new type of solar energy collector concentrates the sun into a beam that could melt steel. Researchers say the device could revolutionize global energy production.The prototype is a 12-foot-wide mirrored dish was made from a lightweight frame of thin, inexpensive aluminum tubing and strips of mirror. It concentrates sunlight by a factor of 1,000 to produce steam.
"This is actually the most efficient solar collector in existence," said Doug Wood, an inventor based in Washington state who patented key parts of the dish's design — the rights to which he has signed over to a team of students at MIT.
To test the prototype this week, MIT mechanical engineering Spencer Ahrens put a plank of wood in the beam and generated an almost instant puff of smoke. Video...
The thing does more than burn wood, of course. At the end of a 12-foot aluminum tube rising from the center of the dish is a black-painted coil of tubing that has water running through it. When the dish is pointing directly at the sun, the water in the coil flashes immediately into steam. Ahrens and his teammates have started a company, RawSolar, to hopefully mass produce the dishes. They could be set up in huge arrays to provide steam for industrial processing, or for heating or cooling buildings, as well as to hook up to steam turbines and generate electricity, according to an MIT statement.
Once in mass production***, such arrays should pay for themselves within two years or so with the energy they produce, the students figure. Wood, the inventor, said the students built the dish and improved on his design. "They really have simplified this and made it user-friendly, so anybody can build it," he said.
Wood said small dishes work best because it requires much less support structure and costs less for a given amount of collection area.
"I've looked for years at a variety of solar approaches, and this is the cheapest I've seen," said MIT Sloan School of Management lecturer David Pelly, in whose class the project first took shape last fall. "And the key thing in scaling it globally is that all of the materials are inexpensive and accessible anywhere in the world."
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of course it "ain't" new; there were parabolic solar furnaces made in the late 1800's and one does not need MIT to figure this out... although, with "digital slide rulers" one can IMPROVE and PERFECT AND use newer, lighter weight materials and "micro" boilers, flash furnaces, trackers, etc. The bottom line is... the concept is still fairly BASIC.
***Why not share (make OPEN SOURCE or sell for $15 to $25 bucks) blueprints NOW! It ain't rocket science. ANYONE with basic mechanical experience CAN build one, anywhere, with junk* parts and aluminum foil. "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Thomas Edison
http://howtocat.blogspot.com/2008/06/solar-cooker-from-abandoned-satellite.html
Image from 1897 "Solar Furnace" (see the "little guy" near the top?)solar power plants in the Mojave Desert
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
FIREWOOD I
"It's been said that a long straight row of firewood standing in the yard in springtime is like money in the bank. It is indeed. As it dries in the summer sunshine, you're collecting interest."
What is the best tree species for firewood? While there is always room for debate, we like to suggest that the best species in your area is the one that is most plentiful, easy to split and doesn't cover your hands and clothes with sticky sap.
All wood, regardless of species, has about the same energy content per pound. The different species vary only in density. Traditionally, the favored trees in central North America were oak and maple because they are very dense and produce long-lasting coals. But these are valuable trees and in many areas are not plentiful enough to burn. No problem, just use softer woods like birch or poplar (aspen) or any other tree that is readily available. Keep in mind that people living in the coldest areas of North America have no hardwoods to burn and they get along just fine. Ultimately, it is more important to have wood that is cut and split to the right size and properly dried than it is to get the hardest wood available. http://www.woodheat.org
What is the best tree species for firewood? While there is always room for debate, we like to suggest that the best species in your area is the one that is most plentiful, easy to split and doesn't cover your hands and clothes with sticky sap.All wood, regardless of species, has about the same energy content per pound. The different species vary only in density. Traditionally, the favored trees in central North America were oak and maple because they are very dense and produce long-lasting coals. But these are valuable trees and in many areas are not plentiful enough to burn. No problem, just use softer woods like birch or poplar (aspen) or any other tree that is readily available. Keep in mind that people living in the coldest areas of North America have no hardwoods to burn and they get along just fine. Ultimately, it is more important to have wood that is cut and split to the right size and properly dried than it is to get the hardest wood available. http://www.woodheat.org
"New" Solar Dish Could Transform Energy Production
(source: FOX NEWS) A new type of solar energy collector concentrates the sun into a beam that could melt steel. Researchers say the device could revolutionize global energy production.The prototype is a 12-foot-wide mirrored dish was made from a lightweight frame of thin, inexpensive aluminum tubing and strips of mirror. It concentrates sunlight by a factor of 1,000 to produce steam.
"This is actually the most efficient solar collector in existence," said Doug Wood, an inventor based in Washington state who patented key parts of the dish's design — the rights to which he has signed over to a team of students at MIT.
To test the prototype this week, MIT mechanical engineering Spencer Ahrens put a plank of wood in the beam and generated an almost instant puff of smoke. Video
The thing does more than burn wood, of course. At the end of a 12-foot aluminum tube rising from the center of the dish is a black-painted coil of tubing that has water running through it. When the dish is pointing directly at the sun, the water in the coil flashes immediately into steam. Ahrens and his teammates have started a company, RawSolar, to hopefully mass produce the dishes. They could be set up in huge arrays to provide steam for industrial processing, or for heating or cooling buildings, as well as to hook up to steam turbines and generate electricity, according to an MIT statement.
Once in mass production***, such arrays should pay for themselves within two years or so with the energy they produce, the students figure. Wood, the inventor, said the students built the dish and improved on his design. "They really have simplified this and made it user-friendly, so anybody can build it," he said.
Wood said small dishes work best because it requires much less support structure and costs less for a given amount of collection area.
"I've looked for years at a variety of solar approaches, and this is the cheapest I've seen," said MIT Sloan School of Management lecturer David Pelly, in whose class the project first took shape last fall. "And the key thing in scaling it globally is that all of the materials are inexpensive and accessible anywhere in the world."
-------------------
of course it "ain't" new; there were parabolic solar furnaces made in the late 1800's and one does not need MIT to figure this out... although, with "digital slide rulers" one can IMPROVE and PERFECT AND use newer, lighter weight materials and "micro" boilers, flash furnaces, trackers, etc. The bottom line is... the concept is still fairly BASIC.
***Why not share (make OPEN SOURCE or sell for $15 to $25 bucks) blueprints NOW! It ain't rocket science. ANYONE with basic mechanical experience CAN build one, anywhere, with junk* parts and aluminum foil. "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Thomas Edison
http://howtocat.blogspot.com/2008/06/solar-cooker-from-abandoned-satellite.html
Image from 1897 "Solar Furnace" (see the "little guy" near the top?)solar power plants in the Mojave Desert
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Energy from the Ocean/Very simple concept
http://www.swellfuel.com/video... http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=845_1190218425
(pitiful videos and why do video people drown out a story with backGROUND muzak?)
It's the dudes, dames and entrepreneurs working from home, backyard or small business that come up with these kind of ideas and make them work for "cheap" out of junk or off-the-shelf parts. Mainstream school and college are 80% CRAP; a WASTE of MONEY (like corporate monopolies). Teach yourself, go to a Tech school, learn as you go (save the dough).
and Gore and the Globalist$ want $45 trillion for what?
and Gore and the Globalist$ want $45 trillion for what?
HOME POWER magazine
HomePower magazine is THE BEST alternative energy magazine available. The articles are well written and the layout and style is excellent. Most are about someone, somebody or some organization who decided to make their place less energy dependent.Each article starts with the Who, Why and Where—then goes into the How and What is needed to accomplish the task. Articles usually cover problems, expenses and SOLUTIONS and ends with a resource list, prices, charts, calculations and does it all in about three pages.
All the ads are for good companies and can only say GOOD & GREAT things about HomePower magazine. It's offered in Print and via PDF download—and there's plenty of excellent, free info on their website.
Richard and Karen Perez launched Home Power in 1987 and have been totally off the grid for more than 20 years! • http://www.homepower.com
Full Spectrum light bulbs...
Don't really advertise anything, but do promote and share what is good. There's some negatives about fluorescent bulbs (disposal, it's ingredients, etc.), but other than natural light, we humans, especially the creatures of the late night who do care to see, read, write and, anyway...just got an eMail from Dr. Mercola and he can be a "pitch man," but anyway, here's the link and he's offering 10,000 hour full-spectrum light bulbs for 1/2 off.http://products.mercola.com/light-bulbs/?source=nl
Be a GREEN COLLAR entrepreneur! (Tech/Independent/Home School)
http://www.mstc.edu/renewableelectricitytechnician/
http://www.mstc.edu/renewablethermalenergytech/index.htm
This fall, Wisconsin’s Mid-State Technical College will be offering three new renewable energy degree programs. These will include biorefinery technology, renewable electricity technician and renewable thermal energy technician training. Ronald Zillmer, associate dean of MSTC’s technical and industrial division hopes the courses are the beginning of new trend in green energy education. “The college is investing in programs for jobs that will be here 100 years from now. This is not a short-term endeavor; folks feeling the effects of globalization and being displaced from their jobs are looking for stability.”
CCC: These professions are needed TODAY! One can self-school via books/online, as well as apprentice with experienced doers. The "big gov" mostly promotes big business/big projects, but this kind of profession, from the Energy Auditor to the Insulation/home energy improvements to passive solar heat and solar electric consulting and install* (*would need plumbing/electrical license for pro jobs) are all doable.
http://www.mstc.edu/renewablethermalenergytech/index.htm
This fall, Wisconsin’s Mid-State Technical College will be offering three new renewable energy degree programs. These will include biorefinery technology, renewable electricity technician and renewable thermal energy technician training. Ronald Zillmer, associate dean of MSTC’s technical and industrial division hopes the courses are the beginning of new trend in green energy education. “The college is investing in programs for jobs that will be here 100 years from now. This is not a short-term endeavor; folks feeling the effects of globalization and being displaced from their jobs are looking for stability.”
CCC: These professions are needed TODAY! One can self-school via books/online, as well as apprentice with experienced doers. The "big gov" mostly promotes big business/big projects, but this kind of profession, from the Energy Auditor to the Insulation/home energy improvements to passive solar heat and solar electric consulting and install* (*would need plumbing/electrical license for pro jobs) are all doable.
Exxon Fights for Pennies While Raising the Rent
Peeved at Prices? Don't Blame the Gas Station...
"Exxon magically lets me make about 8 cents a gallon"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
"Exxon magically lets me make about 8 cents a gallon"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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