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How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

solar.lowtechmagazine.com

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Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#31

Post by jimmyswimmy »

colpabar wrote: post #26
technotarek wrote: post #22

My father and I built a solar powered dog house heater in the 80s. We got the idea and plans from a Detroit area newspaper. The “cell” was simply plywood painted black behind a piece of glass with room in between for air movement. It successfully raised a fully sealed box (perhaps almost 1sq meter) to 40 deg C in the dead of Michigan winter. It also got me a blue ribbon at the science fair. I’ve been intrigued by sol…

This is pretty cool on its own but the fact you did it before the internet using a newspaper is very interesting. I really struggle to imagine how I'd do anything without looking online.

There used to be bookstores and magazine shops. I don't quite mean to say these no longer exist outside of airport waiting areas but they were ubiquitous. Libraries were a source of knowledge rather than a place to get free wifi. Wikipedia's predecessor came as a shelf of books.

This sounds snarky but I don't mean it as such. It's what was available and how much knowledge was passed around. It wasn't hard to learn about even esoteric things if you had a good library. It was hard to find more than one such book though, so there wasn't as much opportunity for expansion of knowledge by comparing approaches.

I like the internet age better though it has become more challenging to separate fact and fiction. The library didn't have too many fake science books.

Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#32

Post by agumonkey »

johnklos wrote: post #4

Why is it never surprising when we hear stories like how Edison bought a thermoelectric generator company (Clamonds’s Improved Thermopile) and ceased development. How much human progress is hampered by the desire of some to profit, no matter the cost to the world?

universe doesn't follow a straight path to optimal.. only locally optimal bits.

what if ICE never took off and we spent 100 years developing electric vehicles ?

Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#33

Post by SV_BubbleTime »

technotarek wrote: post #22

My father and I built a solar powered dog house heater in the 80s. We got the idea and plans from a Detroit area newspaper. The “cell” was simply plywood painted black behind a piece of glass with room in between for air movement. It successfully raised a fully sealed box (perhaps almost 1sq meter) to 40 deg C in the dead of Michigan winter. It also got me a blue ribbon at the science fair. I’ve been intrigued by sol…

I assume you took this down in the summer? Or you had a dog oven?

Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#34

Post by jandrese »

agumonkey wrote: post #32
johnklos wrote: post #4

Why is it never surprising when we hear stories like how Edison bought a thermoelectric generator company (Clamonds’s Improved Thermopile) and ceased development. How much human progress is hampered by the desire of some to profit, no matter the cost to the world?

universe doesn't follow a straight path to optimal.. only locally optimal bits. what if ICE never took off and we spent 100 years developing electric vehicles ?

WWII would have looked very different, especially the aircraft. Naval warfare would have looked nothing like it did. Well, maybe naval boilers wouldn't be counted as ICE, but even if you allow for that it likely means no oil based infrastructure so everybody is still shoveling coal. Even that relatively small change makes a big difference.

Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#35

Post by jandrese »

ca98am79 wrote: post #13
johnklos wrote: post #4

Why is it never surprising when we hear stories like how Edison bought a thermoelectric generator company (Clamonds’s Improved Thermopile) and ceased development. How much human progress is hampered by the desire of some to profit, no matter the cost to the world?

If it were really that valuable to human progress wouldn't another company or competitor to Clamonds’s Improved Thermopile become extremely profitable and valulable?

It might have been patented. By the time the patent runs out the alternatives have become standardized and refined enough that the original can't compete.

Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#36

Post by phamilton »

technotarek wrote: post #22

My father and I built a solar powered dog house heater in the 80s. We got the idea and plans from a Detroit area newspaper. The “cell” was simply plywood painted black behind a piece of glass with room in between for air movement. It successfully raised a fully sealed box (perhaps almost 1sq meter) to 40 deg C in the dead of Michigan winter. It also got me a blue ribbon at the science fair. I’ve been intrigued by sol…

I did something similar with a solar oven. Painted a mason jar black and then used aluminum foil to build a concave reflector. It worked ok, but I was able to get water above the pasteurization point (160* F).

Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#37

Post by opwieurposiu »

wonderwonder wrote: post #30
opwieurposiu wrote: post #6

I put some used PV panels on my shed's roof and wired them up to the bottom element of my electric water heater. This cut my household electric use in half. Not connected to the grid so no expensive permits needed.

Interesting, mind if I ask the total cost for the system you made?

The materials cost was about $1400, half of that is the panels the rest is wire, conduit, brackets, etc. A solar permit in my area costs $1200+ . The high permit costs would make a system this small uneconomic. Local codes vary but in my jurisdiction I could avoid need for permit by putting the panels on my shed instead of my house and using the power for the water heater instead of connecting to the grid.

The payback is 3-6 years depending on what ratio of peak/off-peak power pricing you assume.

Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#38

Post by wonderwonder »

opwieurposiu wrote: post #37
wonderwonder wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, mind if I ask the total cost for the system you made?

The materials cost was about $1400, half of that is the panels the rest is wire, conduit, brackets, etc. A solar permit in my area costs $1200+ . The high permit costs would make a system this small uneconomic. Local codes vary but in my jurisdiction I could avoid need for permit by putting the panels on my shed instead of my house and using the power for the water heater instead of connecting to the grid. The paybac…

very cool, thank you. Payback is also hot water when the power goes out :)

Re: How to Build a Low-Tech Solar Panel?

#40

Post by ghaff »

jimmyswimmy wrote: post #31
colpabar wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty cool on its own but the fact you did it before the internet using a newspaper is very interesting. I really struggle to imagine how I'd do anything without looking online.

There used to be bookstores and magazine shops. I don't quite mean to say these no longer exist outside of airport waiting areas but they were ubiquitous. Libraries were a source of knowledge rather than a place to get free wifi. Wikipedia's predecessor came as a shelf of books. This sounds snarky but I don't mean it as such. It's what was available and how much knowledge was passed around. It wasn't hard to learn ab…

Ay one level, obtaining knowledge was different. You went to libraries--assuming you had access to a good university or city one--and good bookstores, which were also somewhat limited outside of major cities. You called people or wrote them letters. Etc.

It was however also just harder and more limited. I definitely had projects in school that required looking through the library stacks and probably ended up with more "winging it" and depending on one or two old sources than would be the case today.

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