Mke airport. Solar-Powered Trash Compactors for Municipalities. 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. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available. That's not really a problem. No electricity equals no light pollution. 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? After a while, I came to some conclusions: seller. Oops! How to build a Solar Panel. 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.
The heated water leaving the panel is replaced by cool water flowing from the bottom of the Storage Tank into the lower connection on the collector. This continuous natural circulation of the water through the collector and tank heats the tank water over time. 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. Collector Installation Storage Tank and Plumbing. How To Build A Solar Room Heater. Imagine it’s a cold autumn, winter or spring day with temperatures of a few degrees.
This self-powered device can heat up your room from 10 degrees to 29. Keep reading… (C) G. Forrest Cook 2002 (Photo 1) Solar furnace mounted on an external door (Figure 1) Expanded parts layout (Photo 3) Warm air exits from the output port on the top (Photo 2) The fan pushes cold air into the input port on the bottom. (Figure 2) Schematic Introduction This project involves the construction of a self contained solar box furnace (Photo 1). Specifications Nominal Operating Voltage: 12VDCOperating Current: 200ma (depending on the fan)Heat Output: depending on the size of the box, the equivalentof a few hundred watts when the box is in full sun. Some example data was taken with the solar furnace. Theory This is a self-contained and self-powered device. Almost free garage heat – just drink a lot of soda. I’ve had a few days during the HMX build while I’m either waiting for parts or waiting for something to dry and had some free time.
I’m not exactly one to sit and watch TV when I have nothing planned, so I set out on another project. While I have electricity out to the garage now, heat has been an issue all winter long. Mattar graciously lent me his kerosene heater, which did an okay job of taking the bite off the chill. Insulating the garage would go a long way to help keep the bitter Vermont cold out, but that’s a project for another day. I decided instead to take advantage of the south-facing side of the garage and build a solar furnace to collect some of that sunshine just bouncing straight off my garage. I started with some 2x4s and plywood to build a simple box. I actually built the box to certain dimensions, based on what scrap materials I had and on the dimensions of my heat collection method – aluminum cans. Stack the cans with liberal doses of adhesive caulk. How To Heat A Room Using Just Tea Lights & Flowerpots.