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Dumb question: is there any difference (in terms of costs and effect) between solar panels and solar furnaces? I mean, say you have N square meters of solar pa
by kovrik 8y ago
Dumb question: is there any difference (in terms of costs and effect) between solar panels and solar furnaces?
I mean, say you have N square meters of solar panels. If I understand it correctly, then it doesn't matter whether you make them flat or turn them into parabolic solar furnace, does it?
Yes, with furnace you can concentrate that energy on smaller area (hence more heat), but does it matter for house owners?
- bjoli 8y agoA solar "furnace" for air heating is just a box with a collector (most efficient ones are regular black insect screen collectors), which makes them a lot cheaper than a solar panel. Depending on how you have to transfer the air into/out of he collector the price difference can be huge. I am building one now where the material cost for 5 m2 of collector with ventilation will be just shy of $650 and then I am using a very fancy collector mesh which I am not even sure will bring much. The ventilation will also be expensive in my case. Similar panels can be made a lot cheaper, especially in the US where material is cheaper and more readily available. That size would give me about 850w with solar electricity panels and I am counting on 2kw with my collector (if I can get air through it quickly enough). For my size (5m2), the price difference is about a thousand dollars, and I will get twice as much energy out of it. You should check out www.builditsolar.com and search on YouTube for solar furnaces. Edit: oh, and solar water heating is of course even more efficient. 300m 4cm matte black PEM pipe on your roof is an excellent 10kw pool heater, costing just a couple hundred bucks. Payback is just a month or two depending on how fancy you want it.