Comments on: Backyard Solar Dish Melts Steel

By: Lauren@GreenGlobalTravel

Lauren@GreenGlobalTravel — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:07:00 +0000

Go MIT students for furthering the world’s knowledge of our sun’s true potential for renewable energy. Thanks for sharing.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:46:46 +0000

One of those old fiberglass dishes would probably work great and you could even electro plate it with chrome or some other extremely reflective material

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:46:00 +0000

One of those old fiberglass dishes would probably work great and you could even electro plate it with chrome or some other extremely reflective material

By: Doug Wood

Doug Wood — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:34:31 +0000

High-intensity photovoltaic cells, like Spectrolab’s type III-V cells, make better power than do small heat engines. RawSolar is still looking for startup funding, has none.

By: Doug Wood

Doug Wood — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:34:00 +0000

High-intensity photovoltaic cells, like Spectrolab’s type III-V cells, make better power than do small heat engines. RawSolar is still looking for startup funding, has none.

By: MD

MD — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:37:44 +0000

I’m wondering if anyone has tried this with one of those old school satellite dishes from the 80’s, coupled with a sterling engine.

I know that the Ford Motor Company has been doing R&D on similar projects to this for a very long time. They have the manufacturing capacity to make these abundant and economical.

By: MD

MD — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:37:00 +0000

I’m wondering if anyone has tried this with one of those old school satellite dishes from the 80’s, coupled with a sterling engine.

I know that the Ford Motor Company has been doing R&D on similar projects to this for a very long time. They have the manufacturing capacity to make these abundant and economical.

By: Susan Kraemer

Susan Kraemer — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:42:04 +0000

Hope you’re keeping track; MIT team: there’s a first order!

@Tom, but these companies only serve municipalities, utilities, islands, governments, etc — not individual home owners.

Is it hard to add an electricity-producing turbine to this type of solar thermal at the backyard level?

By: Susan Kraemer

Susan Kraemer — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:42:00 +0000

Hope you’re keeping track; MIT team: there’s a first order!

@Tom, but these companies only serve municipalities, utilities, islands, governments, etc — not individual home owners.

Is it hard to add an electricity-producing turbine to this type of solar thermal at the backyard level?

By: Fcarrera

Fcarrera — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:01:12 +0000

I am iterested in your backyard solar dish, please contact me at fcarrera@comcast.net

By: Fcarrera

Fcarrera — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:01:00 +0000

I am iterested in your backyard solar dish, please contact me at fcarrera@comcast.net

By: Tom Lakosh

Tom Lakosh — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:05:02 +0000

Zenith Solar has a similar dish and they use it as a PV/T collector with type III-V solar cells that have a low temperature coeficient. I’ve suggested that they run the low temperature themal output frin multiple dishes through an Organic Rankine Cycle generator to produce another 10-20% electricity before using the heat for space, water, process or digester heat. Others such as HelioDynamics, Menova Engineering, Priono AB, Arontis Solar Solutions also have concentrating PV/T systems.

By: Tom Lakosh

Tom Lakosh — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:05:00 +0000