Posted by admin | Posted in Miscellaneous | Posted on 25-12-2009
Introductory film from Graham Knight about DIY Do It Yourself construction of solar panels (by cutting up large commercial sheets and adding simple connections) suitable for running radios and mobile phones in developing countries. His site: biodesign.webeden.co.uk He has made a better presentation of this project here: www.youtube.com
I’m not sure what you are asking about. This video was one Graham made to put on a CD that we was sending to people participating in the project. He mentions CD rom only in that connection.
It should be possible to power a small batterie powered CD player with a solar panel by connected to the “battery eliminator contact”. But it might be safer to charge batteries and put them in, in stead. (but some energy (cirka 30%?) is lost in going via batteries).
how did you run the wires to the cd rom disk, thanks
I believe the panel that I got from Graham a few years ago gave 6 volts. (It will vary some with the load.)
how many Volts generate that cell ?
Nice one Graham. It works, and it’s simple. So as usual the people who can really make things like this happen on a big scale will ignore it and look for something more complicated. Oh dear, now I’m being cynical.
I agree that that would have been a good idea. But seeing as I’m behind with more important stuff, I’ll leave it as it is.
run that audio through a low pass filter!
In each step some energi is lost, So you wind up with less than you started with.
A Laser sends out less light energy than the electrical energy you put in. A solar panel can only capture a small part of the lights energy as Electricity.
Here is an idea…
You can power up a lazer with a solar panel right?
You can also take power from a solar panel right?
Well why dont you just combine them and forget about batterys and the sun?
The present system can’t continue. There will be radical changes. Keep studying. There are good things to be found even now.
Not sure what you want here.
One comment: many battery are discarded when only one or two of the cells are shot. One can put together usable packs from them.
There is also the possibility of waking up some types that have gone dead. See one of my videos about that.
I’ve heard of studies that have found that no matter how much people have (even the very rich) they feel like they need about 30% more.
It,s impossible, 10 years studing and our future is beeing poor and never have a home. I need a revolution or I will comite suicide.
I want to make a house wiht solar energy but I dont want to have a batery ¿ it is possible? ¿ and the battery is a bad idea because polution and duration? Is a ilegal house, in spain it is impossible for students and “the young” to buy a house. Indeed I,m architect and I,m poor. If I want a home and energy I need to make it myself and the gobern dont let me. It,s very strange our situation, people resolves the problem with debt, and they need around 30 years of wok with no other costs to pay
Showing people how to make simple solar energy devices in poor countries is a great idea, but even in poor countries people want more energy than illustrated here. Training people how to improvise usnig low cost equipment is good and also showing them modern energy efficient devices could be something to aspire to, Mr Solar Energy
Nice!
Having been a physics lab teacher and demonstrating ITC at meeting I know that worry!
Most PV panels produce for ordinary visible light so I would think it’s “just” a question of getting enough intensity.
Unless the panels themselves are the special feature (very high voltage?) it would seem to me that you just have to have a battery backup in case of no sun.
Nice vid!! Im using a solar panel in a demonstration in my thesis in the university of Limerick how to produce hydrogen the only problem is it wont work under ordinary bulb and it is essential that it works and seen as I live in Ireland there is a good chance that there wont be much sunlight. Any chance you know where I could get a bulb that it will work under? Thanks a million.
Electricity is so expensive now,I wish I could have solar panels in my house.I hope solar cells become more affortable in the near future.
I don’t SELL anyTHING. Maybe ideas
The old fellow in the video doesn’t really sell them either. He tries to get local entrepreneurs to make simple panels from large commercial PV sheets.
In most situations most energy is needed for “resistance and inefficiency” and it’s not necessarily small. Elevators usually use counterweights (in best case another elevator going the other way) to decrease the force needed. Lifting weights is one way store energy. I would be interested in hearing a real life example that is economically competitive with Insulated water tank (for heat) or batteries for Electricity.
is it the one that you sell for $47?
A google search of “elevator return energy”, found that modern elevator systems in tall buildings do have special drive mechanisms that generates return energy when the elevator is going down. Thus, the complete needed technology for storing residential solar energy in a special heavy-weighted energy storage elevator is already available. The “overall energy” use for tall building elevators is very small ( just the cost of resistance and inefficiency ).
This is a very good practical idea that could be implemented relatively simply an inexpensively. The energy from cheap solar thermal heaters could be harnessed to heat gases or liquids to actuate the hydraulic lift mechanism as well solar electrical power or even manual power as an emergency back up system, just like our former generations of lighthouse keepers used pulley systems to lift weights each day to rotate huge mechanical systems of lenses and mirrors each night as navigation beacons.
In theory that would be possible but I doubt if it is very cost effective. I would think storage in insulated water tanks would be much cheaper.
That principle is used by some hydro electric plants that pump water UP to the reservoirs when there is excess electricity available.