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Solar-powered Stirling engine

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by DGG (talk | contribs) at 05:00, 18 April 2012 (a product, not a person or organization; A7 does not apply.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

A 'solar powered stirling engine was patented by Roelf J. Meijer in 1987, Solar Powered Stirling Engines, November 24,1987 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |publication-date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |issue-date=, |description=, |country-code=, and |inventorlink= (help); Unknown parameter |inventor-first= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |inventor-last= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |patent-number= ignored (help)</ref> ). His invention relates a heat engine, such as a Stirling cycle engine, with a solar dish collector in order to produce electricity [1] This apparatus consists of a large dish aimed at the sun to reflect the rays into the focus point, which is located at the center of the dish. Solar energy is now collected in the form of heat to fuel a Stirling cycle engine [1] which operates by letting heat flow from a hot source to a cold sink in order to do work Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).. The purpose of this apparatus is to “provide a low-cost, low-technology pump having particular utility in irrigation sustems employed in underdeveloped arid regions of the earth…[using] the basic principles of the Stirling heat engine [2]

Recently, a company called Sunvention Solar Energy created a device very similar to what NASA came up with in 1976 that can pump 100,000 gallons per day purely off of solar energy and usage of the Stirling cycle costing only US$1,250 [3]This apparatus, much like the others, uses a large solar dish to collect heat from the sun creating a high temperature source and also employs the low temperature water it collects from a nearby stream as its low temperature source allowing for a great range in temperature which in turn allows for more work to be done [3] The work done in Sunvention’s apparatus is used to pump the water into nearby crop fields allowing for a “low-cost, low-technology pump having particular utility in irrigation sustems employed in underdeveloped arid regions of the earth”. If this product reaches 10% of the rural villages in India alone with just one pump per year it would generate US$ 32 million per year [3]

On May 10, 2011 inventor Jason Tsao of Torrance, California created an apparatus that combines a solar Stirling cycle with wind energy to power system that can provide air conditioning, refrigeration, space-heating, hot water, and electricity to a modern home [4]


References

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Meijer87 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fletcher76 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Ardron, Mitra (October 28), Sunvention Sunpulse Water (PDF), retrieved April 10,2012 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help).
  4. ^ Solar And Wind Hybrid Powered Air-Conditioning/Refrigeration, Space-Heating, Hot Water Supply And Electricity Generation System., May 10, 2011 {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |issue-date=, |description=, |inventor2-first=, |inventorlink2=, |inventor2-last=, |country-code=, and |inventorlink= (help); Unknown parameter |inventor-first= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |inventor-last= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |patent-number= ignored (help).
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