Here is an interesting flat panel collector- one that could certainly use some improvements, but the general concept is one that uses readily available materials.
Some questions that come to my mind is does it lose heat at night from warmer water in the hot water tank circulating backwards at night?
There doesn’t appear to be any sort of glazing which I would imagine would help. Also, doesn’t appear to be any insulation on the connecting pipes until the pipes reach the building interior.
Here is a video that shows a test to determine how much heat (btu’s) is being generated by a converted C band satellite dish.
There are some things I like about this setup, particularly that some actual measurements are being made. Also that many materials seen in this project are things that have been given new life, re-purposed from their original intended use to something else.
As in most things I look at, I see things that inspire ideas that build on what has been done. My first thought was in putting insulation on the pipes going from the collector into the building. Following the link to a web page with additional information than provided on the video, I found photos and more information about progress on the project, including some really nice looking insulation.
I’ll watch for this one for future progress on the project.
Interesting video about re-using a satellite dish antenna as a dish collector. This idea uses a mirror finish mylar film glued onto the dish to make the collector.
There have been a number of attempts at building solar powered cooking devices. The majority I’ve seen are solar ovens, mostly using reflectors to direct additional sun energy into an insulated box, heating the air causing the food to bake.
Other cookers have used Fresnel lenses to focus the solar energy onto a metal plate that heats a cooking pan or pot placed on top of it. Yet another focused directly on what looked like a cast iron cauldron.
So I have a few ideas.
Solar powered coffee maker. A quick investigation on the subject seems to show the use of a photo-voltaic panel to generate electricity, then use that to charge a battery that then powers an electric coffee pot, some at 12 volts, others using an inverter to get to 120 volts to use a more conventional coffee maker.
Looking at the parts of a coffee maker, the water in the reservoir fills a tube that is heated electrically, which then causes the water to bubble up another tube and drip into the coffee grounds which then filters into the carafe. So how about using the Fresnel lens to concentrate the solar energy onto an element designed to replace the electrical element in a traditional coffee maker.
Not sure how large the Fresnel lens would need to be to heat the water to a hot enough temperature to cause the water to bubble (boil) up to drip over the coffee, but seems it might be worth the attempt.