Green Train

2011

2011-12-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hot Box 101

2011-10-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

Bottled Heat.wmv

2011-09-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

History of Solar Thermal Power

2011-09-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

Recycle for Solar part 3

2011-05-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Recycle for Solar part three put's it all together. If you still have no idea what this is all about contact me.

Recycle for Solar part 2

2011-05-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

part 2 introduces the heat stratification tube...

Recycling for Solar part 1

2011-05-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

This is part 1 of 3 of the double green method of energy conservation that saves fuel and saves money..

Hot Air Collector

2011-03-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hot Air solar collectors can supplement the heating requirements of a house in a cold climate. As long as the house is well insulated and one side of the house has adequate sunlight exposure a home made solar hot air heating system could be a good investment. The price of oil will continue to rise, but the wise use of sunlight energy may be used to reduce the consumption fossil fuel concentrates. Hydronic solar collectors have the advantage of supplying heat and hot water all year long, but the simplicity of hot air collectors has a special appeal to home owners with limited time for projects. Hot air collectors do not require storage tanks to store heat or radiant floors to distribute heat. Instead household furnishings and interior walls are used to store daytime solar heat and release it gradually at night

Data Analysis: T1 is the temperature of air at the top of the heat storage chamber and T2 is the temperature of air toward the bottom of the heat storage chamber. When the fan is off T1 reaches 135*F by 3:30PM and T2 remains at 50*F. This is what we would expect since heated air from the collector in not circulating through the heat storage chamber. After the fan comes on the T1 (temperature of air from collector) drops and T2( temperature of air returning to collector ) increases. By 4 PM the the temperature differential between incoming and outgoing air stabilizes at 22*F. This differential temperature is used to measure the heat gain of the collector. To estimate the efficiency of heat collection we will need to know: the vertical sunlight intensity at 4 PM, the surface area of the glazing surface and the flow rate of the circulated air.
GLAZING SURFACE                        7 sq ft
FLOW RATE OF FAN                    20 CFM
SOLAR FLUX                                200 BTU/sq ft
MASS OF AIR (m)                        .075 lbs/ft^3
HEAT CAPACITY OF AIR (Cp)    .24 BTU/*F
Qc   =    heat gain/hr from collector
Qs    =    heat energy available from sunlight ( assumption 200 BTU/sq ft)
Qc    =    20 CFM    x    60 min    x     .075lbs./ft^3    x    .24 BTU/*F    x    (T1-T2)
Qc    =    475 BTU/hr
Qs    =    200BTU/sq ft     x    7 sq ft.             =            1,400 BTU/hr
Efficiency    =    Qc/Qs    =    475/1400        =             34%

Hot Box part 2

2011-03-15T19:54:00.000-07:00

This is part 2 of a hot box experiment designed to compare the the heat collected from black aluminum to the heat collected by wet, black polyester felt. The aluminum absorber and the polyester absorber are placed under Mylar glazing and allowed to stand in the sun for 6 minuits. Wet unglazed polyester felt is also placed in the sun and themperatre readings are taken with a data logger every 10 seconds.
Once the hot box frame is made it may be used in numerous comparitive experiments designed to evauate the greenhouse performance of absorber materials, glazing materials and insulation materials.
This is an easy experiment that anyone can perform. If you like the idea of green train trips like this please let me know so that I can plan future green adventures. http://www.jc-solarhomes.com/

Hot Box 101

2011-03-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

The roots of the solar heating industry can be traced back to the invention of the HOT BOX in 1767. In the 16th Century a Swiss-Naturalist, mountain-climber, by the name of Horace de Saussure wondered why valleys always seemed warmer than mountains tops. He believed the dense atmosphere in the valleys might trap heat better than the thin atmosphere at higher elevations. He called this phenomenon the “greenhouse effect” and he set out to prove his heat trapping theory by substituting glass for air.

Horace brought his hotbox to a high elevation where it was cold and measured the temperature inside his project. To his surprise he discovered that the hotbox temperature was not only higher than cold mountain air but it was 18*F hotter than the boiling temperature of water. Hotboxes have traditionally used glass-glazing materials but today we have the opportunity to use clear plastics polyester films. You may decide to use glass or fiberglass reinforced plastic, or Suntuf or Twin Wall polycarbonate BUT It’s important that you get started with some hands on experience and experiment like Horace de Saussure and build a solid foundation of self-discovery. Watch these videos, experiment and comment.