Sun Tracking Solar Panel System I have been thinking about some green ways of depending on the grid as much as I do. There are so many things that can be done but most are very expensive unless you use some build some of it yourself. Have a look at this solar and wind system that uses some home made sun tracking units. "The systems tracks the Sun using a controller from Red Rock Energy and a Satellite Jack Arm. The tracking device is custom made. Solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis.[1][2] In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries’ energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating global warming, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared".[1] Energy from the Sun About half the incoming solar energy reaches the Earth's surface. Early commercial adaption Solar thermal Water heating
Sun Tracking Solar Panel : Undergrad Project funded by DST, Govt of India - Sampriti Bhattacharyya The Sun Tracking Solar Panel was an idea derived from the project on Space Technology, in my sophomore year. We found that, if a rover had rotating solar panels that would always point towards the sun, it could have a considerable increase in it's efficiency, theoritically as much as by 50%.With this in mind, I worked on a programmable Sun Tracking Panel which would track the sun althrough the day and at night and retrace it's steps back to the east at night to face the sun again, the next day. This project got approved and funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST, India) Originally I wanted the panel to have motions in two axis, but we only made a simplified version, as a part of a renewable energy project. If you are interested in building one, I still have a two axis design. Other members of this project are Santu Datta, Abhinanda Basu and V. The panel uses photodiodes to locate the sun and is has stepper motors controlled by the ARM 7 microcontroller. Detailed Description:
Solar water heating Solar water heating (SWH) or solar hot water (SHW) systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years. SWH has been widely used in Australia, Austria, China, Cyprus, Greece, India, Israel, Japan and Turkey. In a "close-coupled" SWH system the storage tank is horizontally mounted immediately above the solar collectors on the roof. No pumping is required as the hot water naturally rises into the tank through thermosiphon flow. In a "pump-circulated" system the storage tank is ground- or floor-mounted and is below the level of the collectors; a circulating pump moves water or heat transfer fluid between the tank and the collectors. SWH systems are designed to deliver hot water for most of the year. Overview[edit] Water heated by the sun is used in many ways. A solar water heater installed on a house in Belgium History[edit] An advertisement for a Solar Water Heater dating to 1902 Mediterranean[edit] Asia-Pacific[edit]
Economy : ‘Narmada canals can give 2,200 MW of solar power’ It will also save 11,000 acres of land, says Gujarat CM Mehsana (Gujarat), Apr 25: If even 10 per cent of the 19,000 km-long Narmada canal network in Gujarat is used for setting up canal-top solar panels, it has the potential to produce 2,200 MW of solar power, save 11,000 acres of land that would otherwise be used and prevent 2,000 crore of precious water from evaporation annually, the Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, said. Also, canal-top solar power equipment produces 15 per cent more power than the plant set up on land as the water flowing underneath keeps the solar panels relatively cool and helps generate more power, he said. The State Government was compelled to take up this project through Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd (GSECL), as no developer was ready to take the challenge at that time, he said. The length of the Narmada Main Canal, constructed under the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), is 458 km. New tech (This article was published on April 25, 2012)
Solar thermal collector Solar thermal collector dish The term "solar collector" commonly refers to solar hot water panels, but may refer to installations such as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers; or basic installations such as solar air heaters. Solar power plants usually use the more complex collectors to generate electricity by heating a fluid to drive a turbine connected to an electrical generator.[1] Simple collectors are typically used in residential and commercial buildings for space heating. Heat collectors[edit] Solar collectors are either non-concentrating or concentrating. Flat-plate and evacuated-tube solar collectors are used to collect heat for space heating, domestic hot water or cooling with an absorption chiller. Flat plate collectors[edit] Flat plate thermal system for water heating deployed on a flat roof. Flat-plate collectors, developed by Hottel and Whillier in the 1950s, are the most common type. Applications[edit] Evacuated tube collectors[edit] Evacuated tube collector Air[edit]
Solar Tracker - How To Build Solar Tracker Circuit Kit Solar Tracker Circuit Kits from MTM Scientific, Inc Solar Tracking Kits, Motors, Sensors, Circuit Booklet and Photos of Customer Projects Español Aqui Photo of Solar Tracker Circuit Kit after assembly (Catalog #ST2) The SOLAR TRACKER 2 CIRCUIT KIT (Catalog #ST2) from MTM Scientific contains all the electrical parts you need to build a circuit which will automatically find and follow the sun across the sky. Solar Tracker Circuit Specifications: 3 Amp Max Motor Current, 12 VDC Supply Need higher current? Please note: This circuit kit is for controlling a 12 VDC electric motor that you provide. SOLAR TRACKER 2 KIT (Catalog #ST2)... $52.50, Worldwide Shipping Included TO ORDER BY PAYPAL: Order using the Paypal button shown. Photo of DC Gearheard Motor (Catalog #ST2M is the #ST2 kit with this motor.) Our DELUXE SOLAR TRACKER KIT #ST2M includes a small 12 VDC Gear Head Motor with the #ST2 circuit kit (above). SOLAR TRACKER 2 CIRCUIT KIT with MOTOR(Catalog #ST2M)... $71.50, USA Shipping Included
Here comes the sun Just outside Seville, in the desert region of Andalucia, Spain, sits an oasis-like sight: a 100-meter-high pillar surrounded by rows of giant mirrors rippling outward. More than 600 of these mirrors, each the size of half a tennis court, track the sun throughout the day, concentrating its rays on the central tower, where the sun’s heat is converted to electricity — enough to power 6,000 homes. The sprawling site, named PS10, is among a handful of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in the world, although that number is expected to grow. CSP proponents say the technology could potentially generate enough clean, renewable energy to power the entire United States, provided two factors are in ample supply: land and sunlight. Now researchers at MIT, in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University in Germany, have come up with a design that reduces the amount of land required to build a CSP plant, while increasing the amount of sunlight its mirrors collect. Blocking a shadow Spiraling out
Solar Thermal Technology for solar hot water, solar building hea Solar thermal is a technology designed to harness sunlight for its thermal energy (heat). This heat is often used for heating water used in homes, businesses, swimming pools, and for heating the insides of buildings (space heating). In order to heat water using sunlight, a solar thermal collector heats a fluid that is pumped through it. As the fluid is pumped through the collector, the fluid becomes heated. The now heated fluid then is pumped out of the collector and through a heat exchanger. Heat exchangers are usually comprised of copper, and are normally found inside a solar storage tank. The storage tank is an essential element of any solar thermal system, as it allows all the heat being generated by the solar thermal collector to be stored for use whenever it is needed. Solar thermal collectors are classified by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) as high, medium, or low temperature collectors. High Temperature Collectors System Designs Dish Designs Medium Temperature Collectors
Lenses & mirrors Sunlight The Energy Advocate Lenses and mirrors can be used to concentrate sunlight. All schoolboys know that a magnifying glass can focus sunlight into a small spot to create very high temperatures. Concentration is not creation, of course. A 2-inch diameter magnifying glass concentrates the sunlight into a small spot, but it also leaves a 2-inch diameter "shadow" where sunlight is not present. The small spot is nothing more and nothing less than an image of the sun. The larger the lens, the more sunlight it gathers, and presumably the hotter the spot. But temperature and heating power are two different things. Solar Tracking Solar Collector, Passive Tracking with improved I Passive Solar Tracking Having the maximum amount of absorber area directly facing the sun causes superior solar collector performance. Because of their round design, Solar Panels Plus evacuated tube collectors are able to passively track the sun, meaning that they are always pointed directly at the sun and can absorb solar thermal energy evenly all day long. This is important, particularly if the heat is needed throughout the day without using a large thermal storage system. By tracking the sun from early morning until late afternoon, more heat is generated by the collector which means that your existing energy source will be used less, saving money and helping conserve precious non-renewable resources Flat-plate collectors, on the other hand, only directly face the sun during midday which decreases their maximum daily heat output, lowers the heat available during morning and afternoon, and, causes the need for larger storage in many applications. Incidence Angle Modifier (IAM)
Fresnel Solar Power – Six Kilowatt System | Top DIY Solar Panels This is going to make solar affordable for everyone. This is a very standard prototypes solar furnace made of lens for all recycled big screen television. I placed it in little bit frame, near the focus here we have a heat collector and a heat exchanger we can run water through to generate high pressure steam. We can generate approximately 1.2 kilo watts of heat energy for this lens. This is about 60 inches (1.52 meter) in diameter using nothing but sunlight. This is a basic solar thermal generator I have come up with. The idea is to take the heat of the sun and use it to generate electrical power as well as hot water. How much power will this system produce?
New Energy Technologies, Inc. and US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Develop ‘Invisible Wires’ for Transporting Electricity on SolarWindow - New Energy Technologies Inc Columbia, MD – March 15, 2012 – New Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: NENE), a developer of innovative technologies for generating sustainable electricity, announces that Company and NREL scientists collaboratively developing New Energy’s SolarWindow™ technology – capable of generating electricity on see-through glass – have successfully collected and transported electricity using a virtually ‘invisible’ conductive wiring system developed for SolarWindow™. The ability to transport electricity on glass windows while remaining see-through is especially important to the eventual deployment of an aesthetically pleasing commercial product. Scientists Successfully Transport Electricity Using Virtually Invisible Wires, Under Development for SolarWindow™ (Displayed on a Glass Slide) The prospect of generating electricity on SolarWindow™ is made possible when researchers creatively layer and arrange unique, ultra-small see-through solar cells on to glass. This is on the bottom of all blog posts.