Solar energy integrated building and solar collector system thereof
A complete energy and water integrated building in a number of modules that may be usable together. The prime module is a solar collector-roof focuses sunlight on inverted strips of fluid-cooled photocells. A second module uses the heated photocell cooling-fluid as winter heating or to charge a heat storage device. A third module uses the heat from photocell cooling to concentrate a liquid desiccant. Water vapor is condensed to liquid water in this module. The concentrated desiccant is used to dry air (humidity extraction). External source of water enables the production of ‘added’ distilled water to increase the reserves of water within the building's water recycle system. Module 5 is a greenhouse with controlled insulation. This module is from liquid foam insulation technology that is in public domain and an invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/296,431, filed Jan. 19, 2010, entitled Solar Energy Integrated Building and System Thereof, which is incorporated herein by reference. This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/285,574, filed Dec. 11, 2009, entitled Concentrated Solar Collector, which is incorporated herein by reference. This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/300,086, filed Feb. 1, 2010, entitled Building Integrated Concentrated Photovoltaic/Thermal Collector, which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a compound solar collector maximizing the amount of sun collected, especially when used with a parabolic reflector aimed at the compound solar collector and a method and system using the solar collector to produce an energy efficient and water self sufficient building.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The increase in the cost of fuel has directed more effort into the efficacy of alternative energy sources such as solar panels as wind power as well as others. Technologies such as energy recapture in automobiles that has been readily available for years is now considered vogue. The present invention provides an affordable, modular housing or building unit with solar energy and water capture to provide a more energy efficient building to update housing in a continuation of an optimization trend proven by hybrid automobile energy recapture.
The present invention according to at least one aspect utilizes improvement in existing technology as well as a practical approach to material selection to achieve a reasonable efficiency while maintaining the lowest costs. Customization of the allocation of resources to different aspects of the invention allows for the invention to work in many geographic areas with different climates, sunshine rates and rain amounts.
The present invention according to at least one embodiment uses an inverted secondary solar collect suspended over a primary reflective trough to capture concentrated solar energy. Tertiary solar collectors and reflective surfaces may be used to capture or redirect light which would not otherwise be captured by the primary reflector. A desiccant cycle can be connected to the hot water output of the solar system to provide air conditioning and/or water recapture. A building constructed with the system may use external surfaces to capture additional water in climates where water is more scarce. In a preferred embodiment, the overall height of the building is reduced by using a solar roof according to the present invention in place of a standard roof, and by using a track bearing the secondary solar collector to eliminate the need for a lengthy pivot arm to retain the secondary collector.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccordingly, it is a principal object of a preferred embodiment of the invention to provide a solar energy system that is energy efficient while using common, affordable elements.
It is another object of the invention to provide a solar system that replaces a standard roof and is arranged to minimize the overall height requirements for the system.
It is a further object of the invention to incorporate the solar system into a hot water system of a building to provide heating and cooling as well as water capture capability.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a modular building with a solar system and water recapture system to provide a building capable of standing alone without relying on commercial or community water and energy systems.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent upon review of the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings. These objects of the present invention are not exhaustive and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention. Further, it must be understood that no one embodiment of the present invention need include all of the aforementioned objects of the present invention. Rather, a given embodiment may include one or none of the aforementioned objects.
Accordingly, these objects are not to be used to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)Solar collectors are gaining importance in our race to go green. One such use is described in co-pending application U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/948,029, filed Nov. 30, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference.
In the co-pending application, a parabolic reflector 312 (
Bottom solar collectors 318 may have side facing openings to catch light reflecting off of the reflector 312 at an acute angle on to a solar heater 336. The faces may be angled or otherwise configured to direct the light to a desired area. In this way the system provides very hot fluids, such as water, in the top and bottom solar heaters and a warm fluid in the solar cell cooling circuit. Both of these temperature fluids may have different uses in summer and winter such as for example in a cooling or heating circuit.
Side panels 320 and/or bottom panels 322 between the solar collectors may have reflective surfaces to minimally interfere with the amount of light reaching the various collectors. However, it is not necessary to provide these additional reflectors to practice the invention.
The main collectors are preferably concentrated collectors. In other words, the collectors funnel (“reflect”) light onto a finite, smaller area where the concentrated light impacts a solar heater or solar cell.
A solar heater uses the light collected to heat water or other fluid. A solar cell (“photovoltaic cell”) uses the light collected to convert light into electricity. The parabolic reflectors at 314 may funnel in direct light onto solar cell 332 connected to a fluid carrier such as pipe 330. The pipe may then carry the heated fluid for other purposes.
According to at least one embodiment of the invention, louvers 360 (
The louvers further are preferably cross-over louvers. That is the louvers on the right side of a collector reflect light onto the left side (or across the entire surface) of the solar heater surface area and the louvers on the left side of the collector reflect light onto the right side of the solar heater (or across the entire surface). This prevents the majority of the light shining on the center by spreading the light across the surface. Additionally, the louvers may be designed to spread a larger portion of received light away from the center (e.g., in a reverse-bell curve or to flatten the overall curve) to regulate the maximum temperature on any particular section of the solar heater surface.
The louvers may also be used to account for changes in the path of the sun across the earth as the seasons change. The louvers may be moved or rotated as a unit throughout the year to adjust as the travel of the sun moves relative to the compound solar reflector. Alternatively, if the trough is in an east to west orientation, the louvers can be used to track the sun across the sky during the individual day, while the trough is tilted throughout the year to correct for seasonal variations of the sun's path. This allows for the light to be spread evenly across the solar cell throughout the year.
While the louvers shown have parallel axes, other designs could be used. For example, if the main reflectors were conical instead of parabolic, a fan shaped louver could be used as shown in
According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, a building may be constructed to take advantage the solar collectors. Such building born collectors may be termed Building Integrated Concentrated Photovoltaic/Thermal (“BICPVT”) collectors, which may include a transparent roof within which sunlight is concentrated so that it principally is focused onto fluid cooled photocells (typically multi-junction photocells). A building for use with such a collector is shown below. Because of the construction of the buildings and the troughs as well as the geometry of the primary collector, some of the light will not be collected within the photocells. However, that non-photocell light may be directed to additional thermal collectors. Thus, besides providing shelter, the roof will provide electricity and two sources of heat, namely (1) Heat from the cooling of the photocells, and (2) heat that was focused onto thermal collectors.
The preferred orientation of the primary collector circular trough in an east-west orientation and modifications to the secondary collector, enable a simpler collector with simpler tracking, while taking advantage of a bigger diameter trough so as to use the concentration ratios capabilities of the photocells (now with state of the art can handle approximately 1000 to 1500 suns). However, north to south orientations could be used without departing from the scope of invention by making adjustments to the orientation and/or rotation of the collector.
The BICPVT advantageously lends itself to construction using simple materials. The transparent cover (i.e., the roof) of the reflective collector may be of cheap corrugated plastics even though they are less transparent than glass, and the reflective material coating the reflector may be a polished aluminum foil that is less reflective than polymer coated silver. However as more cheap roof area is required to produce the desired light concentration, the compromise is mitigated by the fact that the proposed roof (reflective area without secondary targets) is of comparable cost to that of a standard, non-solar roofing material That is, the additional roof is of little cost difference versus a traditional roof. Further, as the primary collector area (1,500×(1−inefficiency)) for target photocell uses a narrower longer strip so as to enable simpler tracking, the geometry lends itself to another use step, namely the use step in building integration being vertically that of the distance of a floor to roof. In other words, the invention can take the place of one portion of one floor (“story”) of a house.
According to at least one embodiment of the invention, a typical trough for the BICPVT may be 16 feet wide and 8-10 feet tall. The collected light from a section of trough may being longer and thinner than that previous BICPVTs, which were typically about 12″ wide×36″. As a compromise, the current BICPVT is about 4″ wide×84″ long (on each side). This enables more use of non imaging optics (e.g., non-photovoltaic cells) which in turn enable very simple manual tracking of the BICPVT throughout the seasons to optimal position and very low material costs. This design also provides a greater safety factor required for cruder optics (sometimes causing narrower focus onto part of the photocell, and thus reduces the danger of an overload), and thus the safety factor is in that the photocells maximum input capacity is not used, avoiding this contingency. Thus simplicity of operation and construction is gained while compromising the potential to produce more energy per a unit of area of collector. This compromise of area-efficiency for simplicity and lower area costs may be beneficial in smaller deployments such as house roofs and annexes to existing homes is possibly with manual operation, versus commercial large-box store (supermarkets, etc.) where BICPVT is preferably fully automated and where it may make more economic sense to take advantage of economies of scale and construct a BICPVT with more expensive, more efficient materials.
A table of the components is provided below:
Referring now to
The primary collector 12 is preferably of a circular section cut with a tilt that depends on latitude. In the BICPVT the trough preferably runs east-west. The overall cover of the collector, including cover sections 10, 9, and 13, slopes towards the south if the BICPVT is located in the northern hemisphere, and to the north, if the BICPVT is in the southern hemisphere. The cover may be made of several flat sheets of transparent material with an angle such that it is concave (
The outer surface of the cover may include an antireflective groove such that light impacting the cover early or late in the day is transmitted into the roof, onto the primary collector, and then onto the secondary collector/focuser, and finally to the photocells or the secondary to thermal collector/tubes.
Thus as shown in
A ray R3 would enter the roof through the cover 13, impact the primary collector 14, is reflected onto the secondary collector 24, and then onto the photocell 5. This indicative of the fact that most of the rays that enter the cover impact the photocell. Ray R4 enters the roof through the cover, impacts the primary collector 14 at the outer area, then is reflected onto secondary collector 8 (
Ray R5, like ray R1, enters the roof through the cover, impacts the primary collector 12 at the outer area, then is reflected onto secondary collector 8, then is reflected onto the thermal collector tube but from below. This shows that a smaller percentage of light that enters the cover at the edges goes towards heating. Ray R6 enters the cover 13 onto a top collector 29, where it reflects off the secondary reflector 30 of the collector 29 and then onto the heat collecting tube. The value of light from the center is recovered as heat by this means.
Light early or later in the day is weak. Thus if it is overlapped and focused onto the collectors it should not overload the photocells. The early/late time-of-day ray R7 (
Light intended for the photocells passes through the cover, reflects off the primary reflector 14, then impacts the photocell directly or impact one of four surfaces of the secondary collector. Possible configurations of these surfaces are shown in
The plastic top sheets may be corrugated perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the BICPVT to help capture light from the morning and late afternoon or other stray light.
Thus, electricity is produce from sunlight by the photocells, lower temperature heat is collected from the cooling of the photocells, and higher temperature heat is collected from the two lower collector/tubes and the top collector/tube.
Tracking can be manual as movements of the secondary collector/targets suspension are executed about 40 time per year with small movements of the pivoted array 224, over about 23 degrees each way (going into winter) and (going into summer); Sheet # 5,
CLEANING: As dust and grime settle onto the surface of the cover, the cover should be cleaned from time to time. Two paths 22 or walkways, one on the top edge and the other at the lower edge of the cover, provide access for cleaning.
A services integrated building comprising a number of modular components, namely, Solar Energy, Water, and Plants is shown incorporating aspects of the solar collector described above. One aspect of the overall invention is to a completely energy and water integrated building in modules. Many of the modules are integrated as parts of a building shown in
The prime module is a solar collector-roof that focuses sunlight on inverted strips of fluid-cooled photocells mounted in a number of primary collectors formed as troughs on the roof. Sunlight heats the photocells to produce electricity and a network of cooling fluids maintains the photocells at their optimal temperature. The solar collector photocells provide energy for the other modules as well as electricity for the building's use. The modular roof containing the solar troughs is also a “roof” for the structure directly replacing a normal roof to save materials and to lower the height requirement of the building. The solar system may be placed directly on the roofing beams or where a normal roof would be installed.
A second module uses the heated photocell cooling-fluid as winter heating, or to charge a heat storage device (not shown) so that the building may be heated when there is no sunlight. A third module (
Modules 4, 6, 7 and are engineered components that are dependent on modules 1-3 & 5. Modules 1-8 complete the integration system. Module 4 comprises five parts, namely modules 4a-f: (4f) anaerobically digests sewage, kitchen waste solids, yard-waste, and algae to biogas and reduces BOD. Further, water from anaerobic digester is sent to a sequence of three algae cultivators with slanting translucent condenser roofs. Distillate from (4f) is mixed with untreated grey sewage in storage tank of (4e). (4e) treats gray sewage in a rotating contactor to remove BOD, then to an algae cultivation tank. The roof of (4e) is a slanting transparent cover condenser. Distilled water from (4e) is sent to storage tank (4d). Water from (4d) is micro-filtered, and UV sterilized as redundant processing and sent to a day tank for use. (4c) rain water harvesting from the roof is sent to the storage of (3a), then if in excess to storage of (4e) raw grey water. (5) is a greenhouse condenser with variable insulation and insulation. The dry air impacting the water wetted surface of the plants or passing through the damp growth media evaporates the water and enables evaporative cooling. It has two modes (5a) one that trellis covered so that in summer leaves on an external trickle irrigated vine on the trellis shade the greenhouse in summer but, in winter, the leaves drop so that full sunlight enters, heating and encouraging plant growth. (5b) a greenhouse with dual covers where between a stable foam may be introduced, shading and insulating in summer days or, insulating on winter nights. (5a) is an alternate to (5b), or they may work together; (5a) producing seasonal (summer) shading and winter exposure, the other insulating when in winter the heat loss is greater than the heat gain. (6) An IT/telecommunications module of hardware and software that enable remote security and operations monitoring, distance learning, education and employment, and internal control of prioritized objectives. (7) A biogas compressor with CO2 and humidity stripping, with storage. And (8) an electric/biogas hybrid auto with a liquid fuel alternative (by others). The auto is adapted to be an emergency stand-by generator of electricity and heat for the building.
One aspect of the invention relates to Modules (1-3, and 5). Certain inventions have inherent techno-economic benefits, derived from multi functionality, such as in building integration. The two or three types of roof in this invention cluster act as in one regard, a roof that is a solar concentrator, and two, a roof that is an external humidity stripping platform. In both cases, the roof may be used also to harvest rain water. The third type of roof is that of a variable shade and insulation greenhouse. This roof enables the direct entry of light during the day and manages the escape of heat. The wetted surfaces of the plants in the greenhouse when fanned with dry air, act as evaporators to produce cooling in summer. In winter the plants are root irrigated and the amount of moisture entering the air is greatly reduced.
Further, the invention-cluster uses the focused sunlight from one roof, to produce electricity via liquid cooled photocells. The liquid is heated in the process of keeping the photocells cooled, thereby both maintaining photocell efficiency and pre-heating the cooling liquid. If that liquid is further heated by focused sunlight (without photocell), its ultimate temperature is increased. If that hotter liquid is used in a system, because delta T is increased, the component using hot liquid may be reduced in size, thereby reducing investment costs.
If there is flexibility in how much roof-focused sunlight is used to produce electricity and heat, VS heat alone, scalable systems may be designed that can accommodated different needs ratios, and thus different markets. Thus, in some areas, the desert for example, a ratio of more water and air conditioning is needed and there is need for electricity. In other areas of more cloud and ground water, less water and air conditioning is needed, but the same electricity needs exist. Thus, for the USA and many countries, by increasing the photocell/pre-heat to post heat ratio, Northeastern markets make a best fit, and, by decreasing the photocell/preheat ratio and by taking advantage of more sunlight, Southwestern arid markets may be a best fit. There will be a wider fit, therefore, for more regions of more countries. This enables production and marketing economies of scale, which in turn is an added efficiency factor of the invention.
Thus, when all of the prime benefit factors are added; and the enabling factors, and the flexibility factors, this invention that provides the prime, and enables all of the factors is of major total benefit.
Description of the ModulesThe description relates to a prime invention and enabled embodiments of the invention. These are described as numbered Modules.
The solar concentrating roof 110 comprises a parallel array of cut-circular concave troughs 224 (as a scalloped pattern), sloping down and to the south for a building located north of the equator. The troughs would slope down and north for a building located south of the equator. These troughs may be lined with highly reflective film or other reflective surface that reflects and focuses light onto a series of targets, namely fluid cooled photocells in the upper section of the target. The collectors also produce producing electricity, a heated liquid, and photo-thermal targets (without photocells) in the lower section of the target strips. The ratio of the two is adjusted to fit the needs of the building.
In winter, the photocells are cooler and operate more efficiently and there is a larger ratio of focused defused light. The output fluid temperature is lower, but there is less need for high temperature. The hot cooling fluid is used for space heating and/or use in a two part energy storage system: (A) a higher temperature phase change system at about 7° C., and (B) a warm mass low temperature storage system at about 4° C. The heating system is designed to draw on the heat from the warm mass as a first priority. In winter or summer some heat is used for ‘hot water’ heating.
Modules (3)-(3a) In Summer, as the concentrated sunlight focused photocells are cooled by circulating liquid, the heat transfer raises the liquids temperature to about 6° C. in the upper target strips, and the subsequent photo-thermal section then raises the cooling fluid's temperature to about 13° C. The electricity is used, stored in batteries, or sold to the grid. The hot cooling liquid is used to energize an air conditioning system by concentrating a desiccant. The fluid exits the desiccant cooling system at about 50 C. The warm fluid is sent to the bottom of a stack to heat/driven a stack effect air drive. The ambient external air pulled by the stack-effect is used to push additional air through the air conditioning condenser-system and through the water condensing system in parallel with the desiccant concentrator. The fluid returns to the photocell a few degrees above ambient. It is then used to cool the photocells and repeat the cycle by a pump. A more comprehensive process is described in further detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/485,264, filed Jun. 16, 2009, entitled Waste Heat Air Conditioner, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Modules (3)-(3b) In summer though the air conditioner uses some liquid desiccant liquid to dry air internal air for air conditioning, some of the desiccant trickle over an external roof surface where the desiccant absorbs water from external sources. Heating desiccant concentration produces water vapor. This added water vapor from outside of the air conditioned closed system is condensed to water and is used as stored potable water, and to be added to the systems captive water.
In winter, treated water is used to humidify the air and as heating. This humidity is condensed as distilled water on interior surface of the greenhouse, and the condensate used as primary water. Precipitation, more prevalent in winter, is also collected and stored as raw water, captive within the system.
Module (4) (Not shown) After each typical use, the water is treated in different recycle systems depending on its contamination. By using the same water over and over within the building, the water needs are placated. A small quantity escapes in air exchange and as sewage sludge. That which is added to the sewage loop and that which escapes from vapor leaks, is more than compensated for by precipitation and by adsorption from external surfaces.
In greater detail, the roof mounted solar collector system 110 includes on a surface of the reflector a trough shaped primary reflector 114. The troughs are preferably sunk in so that the tops of the troughs are connected together to form the top planar surface of the roof, however this is not necessary in all aspects of the invention. At any one time, a ray of direct sunlight impacts on reflector 110 and is reflected onto the secondary collector 112 which is rotated downward so that the opening in the parabolic reflector faces the bottom of the trough, or may be formed according to any of the embodiments described above. According to a preferred embodiment, the secondary reflector is located one half diameters of curve from the primary collector/reflector 110. The secondary collector is made of a thick sheet of a good thermal conducting material such as copper of aluminum. This is to conduct the heat from the focused light from the photocells to the fluid within the secondary collector. The secondary collector is also directly on an east west axis where the surface of secondary collector is perpendicular to the east-west component of the incoming direct sunlight. The secondary collector may be a set of strip photocells that are fluid cooled as shown in diagrammatic cross-section of
In module 4, the cooling high boiling point stable fluid that was used to cool the photocells (as described further below) and then heated to a more useful temperature goes to two principal heat exchangers 140, (
As shown in
The hot desiccant 152 enters the stripper 153. In the stripper, a vertical torus, the hot fluid passes through a series of baffles 154. Air dry flowing upwards in the baffles remove vapor from exposed the hot desiccant. The combined air and vapor 155 flow to the other side of the torus. This side's skin has cooling fins in a stack. The cool skin condenses the water vapor and cools the air. The drier, cool air passes through the flow liquid/gas separating base. The air re-circulates through the baffles; the water is withdrawn and used in air conditioning or elsewhere.
The desiccant with less water pools at 157 and flows out of the stripper 153. It re-enters the specific gravity control tank 158. The control tank is located below the pool 157 to enable gravity flow. As the cooling fluid 150 circulates and more and more water is removed, the control tank's specific gravity increases. Reference 159 is an inverted weighted float valve. It is weighted such that it will move upwards opening the valve when the specific gravity in the contained fluid 158 is enough to raise the float. When the valve 159 opens, fluid from tank 158 at a determined specific gravity flow out of tank 158 to tank 160. Tank 160 is a concentrated desiccant storage tank. From 160, concentrated desiccant is used to dry air (not shown) such as for example to condition a living space in a building. In the process of drying air, the desiccant becomes diluted. The diluted desiccant enters at 165 to a dilute desiccant storage tank 164. As the fluid in tank 158 is withdrawn, the normal float valve 162 senses the reduced water level, and introduces dilute desiccant to be concentrated to the desired specific gravity and functionality.
Or heated fluid from heater 140 is sent to a heat exchange within containment such as that at 126. It that containment where it heats a phase change substance 127 so that heat may be stored, it then goes onto a second heat exchange 128 that is a mass, low-heat storage containment.
After heat exchanges 119 or 128 and 130, fluid 4f is conducted to a final heat exchange 131 in the base of the stack 132 system. External air passing through various devices that need cooling, is heated in 131 and the hot air causing a stack effect to motivate air, the fluid 4f is cooled to near ambient so that it may effectively cool the photocell upon circulation, and the mass of motivated air better cool other items that also need to be cooled. The stack therefore acts as a large fan.
In module 5, the track 205 (
Further, as the pulley mechanism of 214 rotates 214b at one revolution per day around an axis 214c, the radius of the pulley may be increased or decreased may differ causing the line 206 to accelerate or decelerate (
Monitoring for optimization may be done by tracking the energy output of each length of secondary collector as the secondary reflector completes a day's track. And, at the same exercise, a thermal photographic study is made on the edges of the secondary collector. If there are hot edges, one knows that the real focus has crossed the edge or is close to the edge. Then that particular location is adjusted so that the focus is contained under and within secondary collector. Based on the results of the monitor, one will know whether secondary collector is at the correct location at the correct time for any primary reflector. Thus by adjusting the line 206 and 205 using the rotation system 214c, the line of focus can be made to match the line of collection of the target.
The fine target collector 240 is an alternate to secondary reflector 112, a course target. Whereas the photocells in the secondary collector may span a width of a few inches and the types of photocells in the secondary collector 112 are simple and cheaper, and subject to lower light intensity of about 10 to 30 suns, the photocell strip of the fine secondary collector 240 is in the often order of a fraction of an inch and light intensities are about 200 to 1000 suns. Thus even with the defused light concentrator 241 with a width of −1-4 inches prior to the photocell, fine secondary collector 240 requires a smoother tracking pulley mechanism and a post construction adjustment. Thus, the two lines that are parallel and superimposed can be adjusted. As collector 110 is the roof and is big and fixed, it is for secondary collector 112 or fine secondary collector 240 to be adjusted as shown.
The pumped ambient temperature cooling fluid is first used to cool the photocells; in so doing it is preheated. It is next used to cool the reflectors where the fluid becomes hotter. It is finally used in fluid heating collector 244 where it salvages the outer band of light and become further heated. The collector of 244 is also a highly reflective surface. It reflects the fringe or scattered light from the primary reflector onto a black light adsorbing tube that conducts fluid all or some that was used to cool the photocells. The light receiving face of fluid heating collector 244 is covered in glass so as to conserve heat. Thus, the fringe light at the edge of the bell shaped curve of production from primary reflector incorporating scatter and defects in the primary reflector, is salvaged and used to further heat cooling fluid 150, converting it to a more useful higher temperature.
A strong spine 245 is connected by curved ribs 246 onto the fine secondary collector 240. The fine secondary collector 240 is preferably made of pure copper or aluminum and is soft and somewhat pliable. By adjusting the curved ribs with a slight bend or straightened, a small amount of bend may be introduced to the fine secondary collector.
The energy from the primary reflector at the side of photocell 242 is reflected by the fluid cooled reflector 243 onto the photocell 242. Thus the energy capture of the photocell is the energy 247b (
Reference 244a in
The fine secondary collector 240 is mounted on rollers on a track (
The east-west position of the secondary collector is controlled by the cable 206 to the secondary collector. See
Because of the tracked best orientation of the secondary collector 204, not only is the underside of the secondary collector lined with fluid cooled photocells, but so too is a strip of photocells in a trough at the top. Thus, direct sunlight impacting a reflective layer 213 on the secondary collector, is reflected onto a photocell strip 212. The photocell strips 212 are all backed with a flexible pasty heat conducting layer usually a copper flake paste saturated fabric so that the heat from non-converted light-to-electricity on the photocells may be removed. This photocell backing of paste/fabric wraps a copper lined segmented containment 210 that is full of nonvolatile liquid. In that liquid and in intimate contact with the copper-paste backed photocells but on the inside of the secondary collector circulating in and always full of fluid. The secondary collector is made up of segments 210 through which fluid is passed in a flow from one segment to another, so that each segment is always full of fluid. This fluid passing in the tubes within segment 210. Segment 210c from the segment above flows into 210a, to the bottom of the segment. The fluid flows up within segment 210 as in segment 210d always keeping 210 full as it flows from the lower end up to the higher end and flows into tube 210b. Tube 210b flows to the successor segment. In this manner is heated and transports the accumulated heat away from the photocells 212 to be used for HVAC, water heating, and so on. The fluid cooled in its use is returned via a pump to remove heat from the photocells 212 over and over.
The segments each have an air vent 210e to allow for minor changes in fluid height, but to assure that there is minimal pressure within each segment. The reason to minimize the pressure or any change in pressure is to assure that the sectional shape of the segments do not change and thus affect the contact with the photocell; enabling reduced cooling. In the event of a storm, the secondary collector may be manually wrapped with strong fabric protecting it from wind driven projectiles. Line 206 may be locked so that the lateral force is not transferred to the drive mechanism. The upper side of the secondary collector is always positioned to collect light. A ray X striking the curved reflective surface Y is reflected and focused onto photocells 212. The reflective surface Y is insulated so that heat in 10 does not escape through the surface Y.
The tracking device is a simple amplified lever angular constant speed movement VS a line. This contrast of simple rotating levered angular movement enabled by a constant speed clock motor against a straight line, gives the appropriate velocity vs. time of day to the tracker. That is the track surface velocity of the secondary collector at noon is much faster than that at 5 PM. This simple device motorized by an electric clock motor enables such action see
A one-revolution-per-day geared clock motor 213 is connected to a lever 214. The small geared motor rotates the levers pulling the counterweighted cable back and forth. This motion when transferred to the secondary collector via cable 206 such that during the sunlight the secondary collector is in the position of the suns focus reflected from the primary collector. Should the fluid circulation stop, the lack of pressure on a sprung diaphragm withdraws the slip cog part of 13 freeing the cable from 13 and the secondary collector is pulled to an out of focus position.
In summer and winter the fluid pump, triggered by a photocell, operates to cover effective sunlight hours. If there is pressure, the arm moves and pulls a cable. The velocity of the cable is amplified by gearing to replicate position on the track 205 that is congruent with tracking time and distance profile. From the gearing a cable extends upwards and becomes 206 that pulls the secondary collector to the correct position as if tracking. Also in that gear is a slip cog that disengages the traction on the cable so that when there is no fluid pressure, the cable attached to the gearing slips back to out of focus position. The cable 206 attaches to a pulley mounted on track 205 for each the secondary collector independently. From each the secondary collector the cable goes to another independent pulley on the other side of the collector array. Thus with a very simple device the positions are very close to being optimum for each collector.
Walls 270a and 270b are pivot mounted on axels 74. There are extensions (not shown) to the back of walls 270a and 270b that allow room for the photocell cooling line and backing 241. These arms are connected in pairs 270a and 270b. When pulled in either direction along 240, 270a and 270b move in tandem like louvers, changing the shape of the dominant collector orientation formed by the four sided collector, the two parallel mirror image water cooled reflectors 243, and 270a and 270b. The change of shape is the effect of the movement of 270a and 270b about the axis 274. See especially FIGS. 34 and 37-39. This change in orientation adjusts the collector surfaces collectively called 277 such that light from a lower angle relative to 240, i.e., in winter is focused more directly onto photocell 243 after being collected and focused by the new shape 277.
In order to maximize easing of peak demand of midsummer, should the electric system be connected to the grid, The line 277 is shown in
As mentioned previously walls 270a and 270b move in a north south direction but the outer edge of which defining a larger rectangle relative to the photo cell rectangular surface 277. On the south edge of walls 277 for collectors deployed in the northern hemisphere of earth, there is a link 282 to a Freneau lens 278,281. (
At this stage in winter the light is focused on the photocell but would impact it an angle where some may be reflected from to surface of the cell. To manage that possibility there is a strip of about three-five smaller Freneau lenses 281 that ride north south just over or on the surface of the photocell. These set Freneau lenses each have a increasing degree of light direction correction, from one being about 22 degrees, the next being about 15 degrees, the next being about 7 degrees, and the last being an open space. This set of about the secondary collector lenses are repeated at each photocell. Thus as these photocells are in a line with spaces in between, the strip is accommodated in that space. The movement north south of the strip will present the same degree of correction to all the photocells. This correction will manage the impacting light so that it correctly impacts the surface of the cell at near 90 degrees and little or no light is lost. One skilled in the art would recognize that these systems could be used with the solar collector of
While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as maybe applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the appended claims. It is therefore to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A solar collection system comprising:
- a primary reflector for reflecting sunlight onto a secondary collector, the primary collector including a trough with reflective inner walls;
- a secondary reflector having a pair downward facing photocells for collecting light from said primary reflector and converting the light into electricity, each of said pair of photocells having walls extending outward from said photocells to concentrate light onto said photocell;
- said photocells facing at least 90 degrees from each other;
- a top mounted solar collector for receiving light from above said pair of photocells' walls;
- a pair of diametrically faced bottom solar collectors for collecting light that reflects off of said primary reflector to below said pair of photocell's walls.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said top solar collector is a solar heater transferring solar heat to a circulating cooling fluid.
3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said pair of bottom solar collectors are solar heaters transferring solar heat to a circulating cooling fluid.
4. A method of heating a building comprising:
- providing a building having an upper surface;
- providing at least one trough on the upper surface exposed to the atmosphere;
- forming a primary reflector in said trough for reflecting sunlight onto a secondary collector, wherein the trough includes reflective inner walls;
- providing a secondary reflector having a pair downward facing photocells for collecting light from said primary reflector and converting the light into electricity, each of said pair of photocells having walls extending outward from said photocells to concentrate light onto said photocell;
- providing said photocells facing at least 90′ degrees from each other;
- providing a top mounted solar collector for receiving light from above said pair of photocells' walls, wherein said top solar collector is a solar heater transferring solar heat to a circulating cooling fluid;
- providing a pair of diametrically faced bottom solar collectors for collecting light that reflects off of said primary reflector to below said pair of photocell's walls;
- moving said cooling fluid to a heat exchanger to release heat from said top mounted solar collector to a desiccant heating pipe;
- heating the desiccant to release water from the desiccant;
- capturing the fluid from the desiccant in a tank.
5. The method of heating a building of claim 4, further comprising:
- a cable attached to said pair of photocell walls to change the direction the opening defined by said walls;
- moving said walls with said cable to optimally direct said wall opening throughout the year to maximize light received by said pair of photocells;
6. The method of heating a building of claim 4, further comprising:
- a cable attached to said pair of photocell walls to change the direction the opening defined by said walls;
- moving said walls with said cable to optimally direct said wall opening to maximize light received from said primary reflector.
7. The method of heating a building of claim 6, further comprising:
- providing a solar target separate from said photocells to measure the amount of light received by said primary reflector.
8. The method of heating a building of claim 6, further comprising:
- taking an infrared scan of at least one of the photocells and photocell walls to determine the temperature distribution across the photocell walls;
- changing the direction of opening of the photocell walls based on said reading to maximize the light received by the photocells from the primary reflector.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 13, 2010
Publication Date: Sep 29, 2011
Inventor: Daniel D. De Lima (Westover, MD)
Application Number: 12/926,827
International Classification: E04D 13/18 (20060101); F24J 2/10 (20060101);