The Hunting Dynasty
Efficient by nature, elegent by design.Archive for Solar
The Stirling engine. A sterling idea.
Stirling engines were commonplace around 1880 to 1920 but fell out of fashion with the advent of the electric motor. But what are they? They are a ‘closed-cycle regenerative heat engine‘.
Lesley Bossine, Ex-top bod at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum, explains “Basically a Stirling engine is unlike a diesel car or steam engine where you have got to put a fuel in. The Stirling engine works on pure heat, so you can power them on solar power, geothermal energy or waste heat.”
Originally invented in 1816 by the Rev Dr Robert Stirling, they are closed circuit combustion engines. They are silent, and work by using heat to warm a cylinder. Within the cylinder, air expands with an increase in pressure that in turn drives the engine.
True Stirling engines also incorporate a heat store called a Regenerator, which stores heat energy during one part of the cycle and releases it later, making it even more efficient.
“The person that can crack Stirling technology and scale it up into a viable energy source will become a multi-millionaire.” says Bossine.
Here’s how to build one
Phone home: free juice at Glastonbury
Orange have set up this recharging station at Glastonbury. Perfect for Noel Gallager to recharge his phone and ring his brother to tell him the Jay Z just mimed to Wonderwall in what was an obvious snub to the Oasis star’s criticism of Jay Z headlining the festival.
At over 7 meters in height, the free standing recharge Pod is a self sufficient unit that supports a wind generator and solar panels and can charge up to 100 mobile phones per hour. It is estimated that the Orange recharge pod will charge thousands of mobile phones over the course of the 3 day festival, and the energy generated by the Orange recharge pod to be the equivalent of powering a DJ booth for Groove Armada for a marathon 88 hour set (I think that’s Orange trying to put a value on the power genrated ‘in a way the youth will understand’).
Working with renewable energy experts Gotwind, the recharge Pod is an evolution of the Orange portable wind charger, tested at 2007’s Glastonbury Festival. The recharge Pod will act as a trial in using renewable energy sources on a larger scale, with a view to ultimately powering elements of the Chill n’ Charge tent at future Glastonbury Festivals.
Wind or solar? Or both?
Bluenergy AG created this upright wind turbine covered in solar panels some years ago.
It’s brilliant.
It works between 4mph and 90mph. The solar panels are made with a surface that traps light. The turbine is at the bottom so is easy to service. When there’s no wind, there’s still the chance of sun. When there’s no sun, there’s still the chance of wind.
Where is it now?
Unbelievably there’s hardly any information about it apart from this film presentation. We’re Hunting – high and low…
