On Mon, 24 Mar 2003 10:23 am, Thor Skov wrote: > OK, I lied, this isn't about biofuels per se, but > rather about home energy generation. > > I am rebuilding my house in Seattle, and want to go > with passive solar heating supplemented with an > efficient wood fireplace insert (see, biofuels!).
my only comment on this is be aware of wood stove emmissions. In cities they seriously contribute to asthma causing smog. they are banned in my local municipality in all new homes... people still install them though... *sigh* > My question is about solar water heating. I'd like to > use solar panels and recaptured waste water heat to > preheat water, store it in tanks, and then pipe it to > electric on-demand heaters at the point of usage. > Does anyone know of a design for such a system? No hints I am afraid, but one comment I would make is that Si based solar panels decrease dramatically in efficiency when heated. so solar hot water and solar power generation are contra-indicated. infact it is worth your while to water cool you solar panels if you have access to cheap (rain) water... there is a new type of solar panel - DSC - that utilises a different type of electricity generation - nano-particle TiO2 and a photosensitive dye - that increases efficiency with temperature... I was thinking of setting up a parabolic trough lined with alfoil, a strip of these panels and backing them with hot water pipes.... but I have too many other projects going at the moment, so it will have to wait... -- Dr Paul van den Bergen Centre for Advanced Internet Architectures caia.swin.edu.au [EMAIL PROTECTED] IM:bulwynkl2002 It's a book. Non-volatile storage media. Everyone should have one. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Your own Online Store Selling our Overstock. http://us.click.yahoo.com/rZll0B/4ftFAA/46VHAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
