4 ms·

Any of the moving parts e.g. mechanical to electrical converter, the 2 axis point solar tracker.

by jerven 10y ago

Annatar 10y ago
And you believe that a solar panel would last longer and be cheaper than a Stirling solar power plant? Based on which data?
- pjc50 10y ago
  One of these is currently commercially widely available, installed on roofs, and halving in cost seemingly every 18-24 months. The other one isn't. I don't doubt that Stirling systems could be cheaper, but I'm not seeing them yet. I also flatly refuse to believe that a moving-parts system can last 25 years without maintenance, even if just regular oiling, while solar panels should still have 70-80% of their output after 25 years with no maintenance. It's the inverters and batteries that require maintenance or replacement. (There are claims that solar thermal storage + Stirling is cheaper than PV+batteries, which are much more plausible, but where are the installations, big or small?)
  - Annatar 10y ago
    I have yet to see a Stirling engine implementation which requires lubrication, so again, which maintenance are you referring to? Specifically, I was and am referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EahfGfDdgNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EahfGfDdgNY
    - pjc50 10y ago
      That video makes my point nicely in two ways. Firstly, the link under it to the commercial supplier is dead. It's not a product you can just buy. Secondly, it's a concentrator system with a two-axis tracker. That's going to require maintenance, however trivial. You can clearly see a chain-and-sprocket arrangement at about 1:20 in the video. If you have a chain technology which is maintenance-free for 25 years, I know a lot of cyclists who'd be interested.
      - Annatar 10y ago
        I never oiled the chain on any of my bicycles, and it's been more than 25 years. They still run. Even so, I prefer putting on a little grease on such a sprocket compared to hoping that my solar panels will generate enough power after 13 years. And in my initial post, I unequivocally stated that one of the biggest problems with the integrated Stirling engine is that no residential kits are available at the local hardware store.

Any of the moving parts e.g. mechanical to electrical converter, the 2 axis point solar tracker.

by jerven 10y ago

Any of the moving parts e.g. mechanical to electrical converter, the 2 axis point solar tracker.

And you believe that a solar panel would last longer and be cheaper than a Stirling solar power plant? Based on which data?

pjc50 10y ago
One of these is currently commercially widely available, installed on roofs, and halving in cost seemingly every 18-24 months. The other one isn't. I don't doubt that Stirling systems could be cheaper, but I'm not seeing them yet. I also flatly refuse to believe that a moving-parts system can last 25 years without maintenance, even if just regular oiling, while solar panels should still have 70-80% of their output after 25 years with no maintenance. It's the inverters and batteries that require maintenance or replacement. (There are claims that solar thermal storage + Stirling is cheaper than PV+batteries, which are much more plausible, but where are the installations, big or small?)
- Annatar 10y ago
  I have yet to see a Stirling engine implementation which requires lubrication, so again, which maintenance are you referring to? Specifically, I was and am referring to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EahfGfDdgNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EahfGfDdgNY
  - pjc50 10y ago
    That video makes my point nicely in two ways. Firstly, the link under it to the commercial supplier is dead. It's not a product you can just buy. Secondly, it's a concentrator system with a two-axis tracker. That's going to require maintenance, however trivial. You can clearly see a chain-and-sprocket arrangement at about 1:20 in the video. If you have a chain technology which is maintenance-free for 25 years, I know a lot of cyclists who'd be interested.
    - Annatar 10y ago
      I never oiled the chain on any of my bicycles, and it's been more than 25 years. They still run. Even so, I prefer putting on a little grease on such a sprocket compared to hoping that my solar panels will generate enough power after 13 years. And in my initial post, I unequivocally stated that one of the biggest problems with the integrated Stirling engine is that no residential kits are available at the local hardware store.