| RSS Web Feed for Renewable Energy UK | REUK Shop | Directory | Bookmark Site | About Us  

Stirling Engine Solar Power



Stirling Engine Solar Power

Generate electricity from a solar powered Stirling Engine

solar
Printer Friendly Version Print Article     

A solar Stirling Engine (or Hot Air Engine) takes advantage of the fact that concentrated sunlight is a fantastic heat source, and as such can be used to generate electricity more efficiently than photovoltaic solar panels

Schematic of a solar Stirling Engine

The Stirling engine was developed in 1816 by Robert Stirling in order to offer an alternative to the frequently explosive early steam engines. Basically a closed cylinder containing a piston and helium, nitrogen or hydrogen gas is heated at one end by concentrated sunlight, and cooled at the other end by air or water. As the gas expands and cools with the movement of the piston, a generator can be driven to produce electricity. (If the engine is run in reverse then it produces a cooling effect acting as a 'Stirling cooler'.
With a Stirling engine combustion occurs outside the engine which made it much safer and less likely to explode. They didn't catch on the nineteenth century because of the costs of manufacture despite exceptional efficiency of almost 50% in some cases.

Illustration of a potential stirling engine solar power station

The dish pictured above is manufacted by Stirling Energy Systems of Phoenix, USA. An array of concave mirrors focus the sun's rays onto a single point which drives a four-cylinder stirling engine which turns a 25 kW generator. The solar collector is over 10 metres across and it currently costs 1/4 million dollars.

Illustration of a potential stirling engine solar power station

Collectors can be connected together into arrays in order to generate larger amounts of electricity. There are currently proposales to erect a 20,000 dish array somewhere in the sunny South West of the USA to pump out 500 MW of power - more than many nuclear or fossil fuel power stations.

Stirling engines can also be used with geothermal heat, waste industrial heat, to generate electricity.

Article Last Modified: 13:39, 17th Apr 2006


Recommended Related Articles

People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:

Make a Stirling Engine
Make your own demonstration Stirling Engine
Article Last Modified: 14:37, 17th Apr 2006
education

Solar Tracker
Set up solar panels to track the motion of the sun across the sky to maximise power output
Article Last Modified: 10:37, 9th Feb 2008
solar | electronics

Simple Solar Tracker Concept
Make a very simple sun tracker to maximise electricity generation from a PV solar panel
Article Last Modified: 10:37, 9th Feb 2008
solar | electric circuit | general

DIY 2kW Wind Turbine
Read about a home built 2kW wind turbine constructed from scrap
Article Last Modified: 08:46, 4th Oct 2007
wind | recycling

Permanent Magnet Generator
Build a wind or water power system with around a PM Generator
Article Last Modified: 11:44, 21st Jul 2008
wind | hydro

Desert Refrigerator Power Free Cooling
Keep things cool using a Desert Refrigerator - no power required
Article Last Modified: 16:29, 11th Jun 2008
energy efficiency | carbon | general

How I Built A Wind Turbine
Read how a wind turbine was built for under US$150
Article Last Modified: 15:16, 19th Aug 2008
wind | education

Make a Simple Solar Air Heater
Heat a room or outhouse with a solar heater made from recycled aluminium cans
Article Last Modified: 14:55, 1st May 2007
solar | heating

How Do PV Solar Panels Work
Find out how photovoltaic solar cells generate electricity
Article Last Modified: 11:12, 4th Apr 2006
solar | education

Light Dependent Resistor
Find out more about LDRs and their use in renewable energy projects
Article Last Modified: 09:26, 24th Oct 2007
electric circuit | solar

© 2006-2008 REUK - All Rights Reserved
Page Last Updated on 11th October 2008 at 09:50:05am

Latest
Articles


solarDAB Solar Powered DAB Radio
Find out more about the world's first solar powered DAB radio
shopping
09:49, 11th Oct 2008

Convert Digital Mains Timer To Low Voltage
Convert a cheap digital mains timer into a low voltage programmable timer relay
electronics
16:21, 5th Oct 2008

Simple Well Pump Controller
Find out how to automatically get water from the well into a header tank
water
11:52, 1st Oct 2008

Solar Powered Poultry Lighting
Put together a solar system to power poultry lighting - increase winter egg production
solar
10:05, 27th Sep 2008

Solar Powered Security Spotlight
Protect your home with a solar-powered motion-detecting security spotlight
solar
14:22, 25th Sep 2008

Shed and Garage Solar Lighting
Light your shed or garage with solar powered lighting
lighting
14:03, 25th Sep 2008

Wind Up Eco Media Player
Find out more about the Eco Media Player - the world's first windup video player from Trevor Baylis
shopping
12:55, 25th Sep 2008

Solargorilla Laptop Charger
Find out about the Solargorilla - a rugged solar powered laptop charger
shopping
12:55, 25th Sep 2008



REUK Shop

Popular Items


12 VOLT 3 WATT SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 12 Volt 3 Watt Solar Panel - 199 x 136mm with fitted leads (fiberglass and resin).
£19.99 each.
Solar Power



EFERGY HOMECO2METER
efergy homeCO2meter wireless electricity monitor
£38.99 each.
Energy Saving



6V 250MA SOLAR PANEL
Waterproof 6 Volt 250 milliamp (1.5 Watt) Solar Panel - 130 x 135mm with fitted leads (fiberglass and resin)
£13.99 each.
Solar Power



300 WATT POWER INVERTER
Convert 12V DC battery power into 230 AC to power portable televisions, computers, video recorders etc. 300 Watt power rating - peak power 600 Watts
£29.99 each.
Renewable Energy System Parts



SOLAR PUMP CONTROLLER WITH RELAY
Solar water heating system microprocessor controlled circuit with fitted 10A relay
£25.99 each.
Complete Circuits



SUNSAVER 10A SOLAR CONTROLLER
10 Amp at 12 Volt solar charge controller - epoxy encapsulation, marine rated terminals
£35.99 each.
Solar Controllers