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re: concentrator questions & clarifications
26 apr 1997
alan wrote:
>...electricity from steam requires moving parts and just plain more parts,
>making it inherently higher-maintenence and less reliable than something
>like pv...
agreed, but we all take risks, eg in automobiles, where our chances of dying
are about 1 in 5,000 per year (mostly from people vs mechanical failures...)
this seems like a multidimensional choice, vs one that is black and white.
replacing pvs and their coolers and electronics in a concentrating system
with a steam engine and induction motor (excited by a trace inverter in a
standalone system), might add complexity somewhere between a lawn mower and
a car (both locally fixable) with a large economy gain as well as some useful
"waste heat," while losing some pv complexity.
>and do you think people who refuse to leave the dishwasher or dryer on
>when they aren't home are likely to leave a steam engine on?
rudy often mentions that steam systems need attendents. i think part of this
comes from the history of steam boiler explosions. it seems to me that a well-
designed system with minimal boiler volume (eg a solar steam separator a la
norman saunders, with a glass bottom "fuse" that blows out in overpressure) and
redundant safety systems could be operated unattended, after overcoming some
institutional interia, with lots of testing, etc. nobody gets too excited
about unattended steam irons or espresso machines these days...
nick
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