Inflatable Solar Collectors
BackCoolEarthSolar.com has a patented idea for inflatable solar collectors that are much cheaper than polished mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto Photovoltaic chips. Their design is 400x cheaper than polished aluminum mirrors, will withstand 130 mph winds, lasts a year, repairs with tape, takes 15 minutes to change out, costs $2 per balloon, or 18 cents per watt, compared to $5 per watt for conventional installations, and has a minimal effect on the ground underneath the array! http://www.coolearthsolar.com/technology Animation: Mark4Lewis@Comcast.net
Channel: Howto & Style
Uploaded: July 10, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Author: PeakPixels
Length: 0:01:16
Rating: 4.34
Views: 74,341
Tags: solar energy coolearthsolar collector photovoltaic concentrator animation illustration lewis bryce peakpixels
Video Comments:
zea6thayec (Wednesday 12th of November 2008 12:26:14 AM)
Shoot that DAMN bird!
littlejay123 (Sunday 16th of November 2008 12:07:20 PM)
agreed
ravenise (Friday 3rd of October 2008 10:05:04 AM)
it is probably very simple to make them last longer... couldn't one dip them in some kind of plastic/material that could extend its life? or is it the photovoltaic parts that degrade over time?
bereaman (Wednesday 1st of October 2008 11:36:43 AM)
Whats that mean exactly.?
orangeblueandlavenda (Saturday 20th of September 2008 04:21:57 PM)
if you could figure out away to make them last three to five years - they would sell.
servant74 (Wednesday 20th of August 2008 07:59:22 PM)
expect to replace the entire lot each year. They seem to be trying to 'go for the brass ring' of utility companies rather than 'real people'. If they get it sold, the vulture capitalists will make a killing. If not, we may loose a promising technology.
servant74 (Wednesday 20th of August 2008 07:54:56 PM)
They say it lasts about a year in the FAQ
ericj9 (Saturday 9th of August 2008 05:59:31 PM)
So when exactly does it come to market? After going to the website, I found this fun FAQ:
Can I buy coolearth's solar concentrator? How much?
No, we don't sell our products or systems to third parties and consequently we don't quote our prices either on this web site or through email inquiries.
$0.18 per watt does nothing for me if I can't get it. Somehow I don't see the utility company passing the savings on to me either. I wish there was an alternative to the $8 solar panel. distant future?
FlanneltheNerfer (Friday 25th of July 2008 03:08:54 PM)
Where does the discarded balloons go? A landfill? Perhaps this system creates waste? Could the cost of recycling the balloons be incorporated into the final cost of the system?
daveymilla (Tuesday 15th of July 2008 12:58:35 AM)
i think a very good idea with wide range of applications. i was just looking at your grid for holding and pointng these devices. i think this could be done with cables only and no brackets. ie one tight cable and one adjustable cable. the solarballs are pivoted on the tight cable, the angle is adjusted by the second cable.