generating power from the sun

[eraser1]

We can make wind generators to capture the energy of the wind and produce power but what can be homemade to capture energy from the sun ( heat or light) to produce electrical power, The only option i think we have at the moment is to buy solar panels?

I am building a solar collecter to heat water ,but is there anything that can be home built at home to produce electrical energy from the sun

[mettleramiel]

Yes there is, but nothing really usable. There is a link to a book on how to do this right on this site

http://www.forcefieldmagnets.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_29&products_id=131.php?cPath=21_29&products_id=131

[disaray1]

  Not everyone has the needed tools, equipment and know how to build this "at home", but a small one of these..(this is a cool sight)  

  http://www.stirlingenergy.com/imagesdet.asp?type=allsolar&imageID=11

 is feasible...I think. A couple of folks here are working on their Stirling engines now. Add a C band satellite dish lined with mylar and a PMA on the Stirling, and start your own power station.

 disaray

[Norm]

  I remember I read in Popular Science many years

ago that they had mylar parabolic mirrors vacuum

sucked the mylar into the parabolic shape a

regular farm just like a windmill farm ....

Each one made steam to be used by a central

steam turbine to generate electricity.

maybe they still have them? or were they

replaced by the windmills?

         ( :>) Norm.

[thefinis]

There are several options but the most likely ones are sterling motors or turbines with a solar collector driven by steam or some other coolant medium like one of the refrigerants. These are not at the build it at home stage yet unless you have a really nice shop and know how to use it. Give it a few more years of high energy prices and you should see some of these make a better showing. If oil prices fall to old price levels it will put it all on the back burner again.

I would like to see a solar steam unit that makes electricity and pure drinking water. Pure water may be a more valuable item in many areas than elecricity.

Finis

[boB]

Since other things have been mentioned already...

Wind energy IS power from the sun !   Works at night too.

boB

K7IQ

www.wirelessfusion.org

[Bruce S]

eraser1;

 As you can see from the posts there are quite a few things that can be done.

Some of it will come from your own imagination.

Sice you're already building a solar heater for your water you could build into it some type of co-generation system where a part of the design is to heat a much smaller diameter tube of water wound so that it gets to steam hot, this will do too things.

1. ) boil the water so that it is safer to drink
   
2. ) steam for running a steam powered generator.
   
   

Or if you wanted to leave the current box alone, go get a stainless steel mixing bowl from the dollar store, don't get the better 1/2 mad by taking one from the kitchen ;-) find the focal point and use the heat focused on that point to do the water distilling and steam production.

Sky's the limit for doing stuff with solar heat. <<< Pun intended>>>

Hope this helps

Bruce S