i want to convert solar energy to electricity with the use of normal thermal panels not PhotoVoltaic cells..
how can i do that?
i was thinking of running a mini steam turbine with the hot steam produced.. and then generate electricity through the turbine..
how can i do this?
do u know any pages for detailed information?
More Pages:
- Solar Turbines: How Many Square Meters Of Solar Cells Would Be Required To Meet Its Energy Requirements? (7/31/2011)
- Solar Power: How Do Photovoltaic Cells Transform Solar Energy In To Electricity? (6/25/2011)
- Solar Turbines: If A Typical Home Uses 390 KWh Of Electricity Per Month, How Many Square Meters Of Solar Cells Would Be Requir? (8/30/2011)
- Solar Turbines: How Much Electricity Can Our Best Solar Cells Generate? Can It Be Stored? (7/24/2011)
- Solar Turbines: How Many Kilowatt Hours Of Electricity Will The Solar Panels Generate In 20 Days? (9/6/2011)
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
PV would actually be a lot easier, and less expensive, not to mention less deadly. If a steam line breaks for some reason, it could kill you. Death by steam burn is painful to say the least, not to mention flying debris that would go with it. To answer your question, yes, it can be done and there are many ways to do it. A mini turbine, other than to show concept, might not be worth your time and trouble due to the limited electrical energy produced. You can’t get 1000 watts of use out of 10 watts of energy produced. For efficiency, the mirrors need to be able to track the sun, or you would need several systems set up to track the sun as it moves across the sky. That would not be efficient because of heat up time for each unit. You would need special piping that would flex with the movement of the mirrors, unless you were using the filed of reflectors as used by Sandia Laboratories about 30 years ago.
Sandia Labs is one place you could ask at, but again, cost for cost, use the PV panels, it is over all, less expensive, more trouble free, and less dangerous. Let’s put it this way, if this were a great idea and profitable, over all, all costs of maintenance and other things considered, would it not be a reasonable expectation to see such installations in common use? Since they are not, then is it possible that it just isn’t as good a way as other methods to generate electricity?
I’m very interested in your ideas on this. You might want to try http://www.builditsolar.com and http://www.homepower.com for ideas. Both these sites are loaded with information. Another source would be to check out the back issues of Mother Earth News. They have the info online and you can purchase all back issues on CD.