Counting The Benefits Of DIY Solar Energy Projects
Why is there a need to take a good look at what solar panels, and many DIY solar energy projects? Well there are a number of reasons why, and all these things can help make your life easy and convenient. If you take a look at some states, you have already noticed the good things [...]
World Solar Challenge
Back in ‘94ish, I participated in the World Solar Challenge as part of a TAFE team. It was a very low cost, low tech entry, basically it was a fiberglass canoe shape body with two wheels at the front and one at the back. A big flat solar panel array above our heads which could [...]
Building On The Ridge or V Trough Solar Concentrator Array
A V trough solar concentrator array would look like the below, not shown is the solar tracker.
This particular array has a 60 degree concentrator, with the reflector surface the same length as half the width of a solar panel. The yellow lines represent the sun and show the sun reflecting to the middle of the [...]
Ridge or V Trough Solar Concentrator
A solar concentrator is a shiny surface that reflects sunlight on to a collector.
One type of concentrator is a ridge or V trough
In this diagram, the solar panel is 50mm wide, the angle of the reflector trough is
60 degrees and the reflector trough in 50mm. You can use the solar funnel
calculator to workout the angle. [...]
Homemade Solar Oven Solar Funnel Calculator
There’s a complicated math formula for calculating the angle of a solar funnel for solar ovens, and the like. But fear not, the solar funnel math calculator is here.
Enter the width and height of the funnel, and we’ll tell you the angle.
Width: (x)
Height: (y)
It’s better to round up a degree or two to [...]
Solar Box Oven - Solar Funnel Maths
The angle and size of solar funnel is interdependent. The idea is you want to reflect the suns energy into your solar box oven, that would have otherwise fallen outside the box.
This is a cross section of the funnel and part of the oven. The solid vertical lines represent the inside of the solar oven, [...]
Homemade Solar Oven Solar Funnel
Adding a solar funnel to your solar oven will help it on marginal days. Square solar cookers work best, but if yours isn’t square, you’ll need 2 sides of different sizes. Square solar cookers just need the one size. The funnel fits on the inner box.
Homemade Solar Concentrator Solar Funnel Outline
Cut out four panels, line [...]
Solar Box Cooker Improvements
The Homemade Solar Cooker works well on most days, although there are a number of ways to improve it for more marginal days.
The easiest way is to make the reflector as big as the outer box. More reflectors could be made separate to the Homemade Solar Oven. You’ll need a way to hold the position [...]
Solar Box Cooker
Solar box cookers or solar box ovens are one of the easiest cookers to make, and they are very effective. You’ll need a few cardboard boxes, some foil, non toxic black paint, white glue, and an oven cooking bag. It’s a great way to start experimenting in Homemade Solar Concentrators.
The two cardboard boxes need to [...]