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!

Simple way to save…

Solar cells comprise ½ the cost of a solar panel this design could lower the average cost by 10%-15%

Both solar designs are patent pending. I’m interested in opportunities to license either

design or partner with an entity to get systems in the field.

Thank You for Listening!