"Intuitive Interactions"
John McCulloch's Solar Energy Page
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Torphichen Kirk
You can buy a solar panel to put on a south-facing roof. It preheats the water slightly making the heating system a little more efficient. Even on the hottest summer day, however, the water produced by the panel is little more than luke-warm. However, by using a parabolic mirror to focus the sunlight onto a small area, it is possible to produce smaller volumes of water at a much higher temperature.
My design is optimised for high latitudes - we live at 55 deg north - and uses a vertical parabolic cylinder which rotates around a fixed vertical pipe containing the water to be heated. A horizontal mirror at the bottom reflects the sun onto the parabolic mirror when the sun is at higher angles.
This project is under development at present and this page will be updated as results are received and developments made.
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