Post on 18-Jul-2015
A Portable Solar Distiller and 30% extra power PV panel
An introduction to a couple solar inventions
Presentation Overview
Solar DistillerClean water problemStart with the MirrorHow it worksPortable/Distributed1-2(?) gallon/day/m^2Keep it simple/make
it cheapAdditional work to do
Solar PV PanelHow PV worksPV is expensive stuffPV + mirror =
cheaperBenefits of 45-45-90
geometry30% more power
confirmedSimple way to save $
Lack of Clean Water; a Major Health Problem
Horrendous WHO statistics on bad H2O ~10 million deaths per year 1 billion+ illnesses per year
Solutions: water treatment plants, dig wells, carbon filters/RO, chlorination
Distillation: separates salts/TDS, metals & biological contaminants from water
Distillation = energy hog = very expensive
Start with the Mirror
Solar One = big $ mirror energy plant in CA
Sun Oven = small $ mirror to cook food
Solar One + Sun OvenUse aluminized MylarDevise simple frameResult: big cheap mirror
How it works
Mirror concentrates sunlight onto pan
Water in pan gets hot and evaporates
Water vapor condenses on cover
Interior lip collects droplets & sends out
Portable & Distributed
Flexible sheet mirror enables portability
Cover, pan & legs weigh ~ 25 lbs
Disaster relief/small village uses
Modular/scale up“Cell phone” of clean
water systems
Production: 2 gallons/day/m^2?
~10,000 kJ needed to vaporize 1 gallon of water1 square meter of sun = 1 kW = 1kJ/s8 hours = 8 * 3,600 s/hr = ~29,000 kJ (ideal)My more modest goal is 1 gal/m^2/dayCurrently producing at a rate of 0.5 gal/m^2/day In tests the water evaporates at 3x the distillation
rate so the water is getting plenty of heat/energyTake away: need to improve the condenser…
Keep it simple/make it cheap
Distiller is simple to set-up & operate
Ease of use essential in poor countries
Clean water solution must be cheap!!!
Designed for low cost transport
Still focused on increasing output
Additional work to do
Accelerate condensation rateImprove gravity drip feed of H20Add a motor to track the sunFind a couple sunny test sitesFind a partner/sponsor to drive adoptionHammer down costs! (Make in country?)
Solar Panel: How PV works
Photovoltaic materials generate energy from sunlight
Many materials can do this, but silicon is most common (90%)
PV cells are connected together and built into panels
Panels are connected together into arrays and put on roofs
PV is expensive stuff
PV cells generally require high purity silicon. 2003 cost $25/kg; due to a shortage 2007 = $75/kg
PV cells are high tech, 7 layers in previous picture
PV cells cost $2.50 per watt, 1 sq ft = $25Dollar trickBig money is invested every year to lower cost
PV + Mirror = Cheaper
Mirrors = $2-$3 sq. ft.Exploit 10+:1 cost
differential to lower average cost of power
Place mirror perpendicular to panel
30% more power only 10% more cost
Simple & it works!
Benefits of 45-45-90 geometry
Place cells in panel at a 45 degree angle and add mirror perpendicular
45-45-90 triangle puts up to 40% more light on cells (perfect mirror)
Align long axis E-W Install panel with solar
cells facing sun No tracking required
30% more power confirmed
Tested in late OctoberBoth panels have 36
cells: 4 rows of 9The standard panel
(right) generated 53W; My panel (left) produced 69W
30% more power on the nose!