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Oct. 11, 2006

Volcanic Exacerbation.

Think about this:

A pot of hot water is 211 Degrees  F. It is docile, not boiling, and not dangerous.

If we heat it one more degree F to 212 degrees F. Then it is boils violently.

Lets not get into the power of steam, or hot gases.

Lets think about this: If one degree can change water into a violent steam, then what could 10 degrees F do to a Volcano?

Lets think about possibly the greatest supper volcano on the Earth, the one in Yellow Stone Park in Montana.

Would you like to play with the temperature there a few degrees, just to see what would happen?

I think not, but that is exactly what we are doing with global warming.

You may say: “Well, so a few tropical birds are migrating a little further north each year, or a few tropical plants grow better a few degrees further north now than they did where there came from”.

I say  “If the canary in the mine is dying, then you may be in trouble. It’s time to take notice.”

Food for thought.

Dennis Cofield

Acro Solar Lasers

September 30, 2002

Subsidies Needed For Direct Heat Solar Collectors.

            My good friend Steve Baer, Famous for his Freon PV Tracker, wrote an article in the September 2002 issue of SEASUN Magazine ( the El Paso Solar Energy Association news paper ) titled "Subsidies Encourage Inefficient Use of Sun" In the article he is condemning government subsidies for solar photovoltaic panels and wind generators. I would have to agree with him to some extent. Reason being we are subsidizing the wrong stuff. Photovoltaic panels are the least efficient of all solar collectors devices. The cost is much more per unit of energy collected than any other type of collector. The pay back, even with government subsidies will be almost never. Wind generators come in right behind the PV's with just a little bit better pay back. Also I am not sure we should subsidize The old classic glass covered FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR as it has well passed it's prime, does not track the sun, and works only 6 hours per day. It is also very expensive and generally short lived. The Flat Plate also has inherent problems which have not as yet been resolved. One problem with early systems built in the 80's was an electric motorized valve. The valve was used for freeze protection, and would automatically drain the collector when temperatures dropped to near freezing. The problem with the valve was that it would hang up in the closed position because of heat and hard water and would not always open and drain the collector. Hence the collector would freeze and ruin the over-priced $10,000. 40 percent subsidized solar water heater system.

            The next try for the FLAT PLATE was the Drain Back System. To prevent collectors from freezing, this system employed a 10 gallon insulated tank which held the fluid that was pumped through the collector up on the roof. As the fluid was pumped from the tank to the collector and back to the tank it was heated by the collector. A copper coil ( heat-exchanger ) inside the 10 gallon tank employed a second pump and circulated water from the solar water storage tank through the hot fluid in the 10 gallon tank and there by heated the water in the storage tank (usually an 80 gallon insulated tank). At night and when ever the collector was cold enough to freeze, the pump which circulated fluid through the collector would shut down and all the fluid would drain back to the 10 gallon tank located inside the house (usually in the hot water heater closet). This worked OK as far as freezing goes. Trouble in Solar Paradise: The drain back system also failed with a new and unexpected problem. Here is how it goes. When ever the 80 gallon insulated solar storage tank reached 180 degrees F the collector pump would shut down and the collector fluid would drain back to the 10 gallon tank. Now the collector is empty and can reach over 400 degrees F in good sun when no water is being pumped through it. Now when the 80 gallon storage tank cools down from domestic hot water use in the home, then the collector pump will turn on again and start pumping water up to the collector. BOOM when the water hits the 400+ degree F collector, the first few drops immediately turn to steam creating an instant high pressure steam. This very high pressure steam can, and has in many cases, ruptured the copper tubing inside the collector. So much for the drain back system. There are cures which have draw backs and problems of their own but I will not go into that here.

            Question is: should we subsidize this problematic flat plate system? Uhh, naw!!! How about the plastic flat plate swimming pool collector which is now probably the largest selling solar collector in this country? Well it works best in very hot weather when the out side temperature is hotter than the water being heated. It is in effect a very large plastic radiator which can and will collect or give off heat depending on whether or not the water in the pool is hotter or colder than the outside temperature. Hence it works pretty good in hot weather when you may or may not want the heat, and can not work at all in cold weather when you do need the heat as it will give away any heat in the pool water. Like the glass cover flat plate hot water heater, the plastic collector usually must be mounted on the roof. This leads to all kinds of severe roof damage in high winds. I have seen them blown off the roof taking the plumbing with them and leaving holes in the roof where the tie downs pulled out. There is not much left when they hit the ground. Also it takes $50 to $100 per month at 11 cents per kilowatt hour to operate the plastic collectors for a small to middle sized in-ground home pool. They require very large flows of water and must use the high powered swimming pool filter pump. Lager pools use larger pumps and the cost to run them can be tremendous. Should we subsidize them? Uhh, Naw! Should we subsidize anything? Maybe not. Trouble is we are subsidizing a lot of stuff, especially the hydrocarbon fuels: coal, gas, oil, and oil wars. The fact is every big business in America has been subsidized. That is rail roads, automobiles, airplanes, the military industrial complex and almost any popular item that you can think of. Most of them would not have made it in this blood sucking government without subsidies.

            Since we are subsidizing everything that make it today, then anything not subsidized will have a difficult time in this market. Which brings me to the Solar Laser System. Should the Solar Laser System be subsidized? This systems has none of the inherent problems associated with all the above direct heat collectors. Unlike the flat plates it works at highest efficiency from sun up to dark, not just sort of for 6 hours. It has no moving valve to hang up. It does not need to be mounted on a roof or a special platform, it sits on a steel pole, and none have ever been destroyed by wind or hail. It does not require the use of the high powered pool pump. It works in hot or cold weather. It's $/Btu output is believed to be the best value in the industry available to the public. It's computer tracks the sun, controls the pump, and manages the system by monitoring all temperatures within the solar power system. That includes relative altitude and azimuth of the sun, storage temperature, heat receiver temperature, daylight-darkness, charges it's own little battery, and looks to see that it's small battery charge source is available. That source can be a small PV, or any voltage up to 240 AC. The computer standby current at 5 VDC is about .04 Amps. Two tracking gear motors which normally run only a quick zip every few seconds each draw less than .2 Amps average. Total run time for each tiny geared motor is only a few minutes each per day in a normal tracking day. The question was: Should we subsidize the Solar Laser System? There are two ways to look at it. Two possible solutions are shown below. 1. The first solution: Stop subsidizing the hydro carbons. 2. Subsidize the Solar Laser System. Lets look at solution 1. If the government stops subsidizing the hydro carbons fuels then energy prices will shoot up even more. That makes the Solar Laser System look even more cost effective. That may not work. Why? Put your self in this position. You are a high level government official. You have a few oil wells, and it can get hard to push at the current price. All of a sudden some one wants government money for a Solar Laser System.

            A solar system which will drop the demand for your oil ( could be coal, gas, or nuclear ) even lower than ever expected. Then Uncle Sam drops your subsidizing incentive. Now your production cost has increased, but the demand for your product has dropped along with the price. The price goes down as consumption drops. We are talking about some big numbers here. Your high priced hydrocarbon fuel is now competing with a back yard pole mounted solar system that is making 1500 gallons of hot water per day. Then, if you were in the above described position, would you vote to subsidize the Solar Laser System? Uhh, Naw. Solution 2. Suppose by some sane moment, the government realizes that we are on a space ship, and space ships have limited pure air, water and resource.. Let's suppose that congress woke up and said, one to the other " Uhh, we need to do something But Head". Let's suppose they voted to really subsidize the Solar Laser System. I figure that we could, in a very short time, reduce the demand for hydrocarbons by at least 30%. How? The 14 foot Solar Laser System can easily replace a good $300 and more in a good month against gas, electric, and especially propane in direct heat. That is a conservative figure when you use it to heat a cold pool where Btu output is extremely high. Now congressman Dum Ass, or was that DUMASS? Are you going to vote to subsidize the Solar Laser System? Answer: "Uhh, Naw"! Well for now Acro Solar Lasers will struggle along and continue to Build for those sited individuals who want, and demand the very best in long term, and cost effective direct heat solar equipment.

            These are the people who not only have a need for the heat, but are already paying too much for it, and have the financial ability to buy it. But we can't sell it to all of America without subsidies, just as we could not have developed the automobile, airplane, trains, etc, with out subsidies. To really take off we could start with a 60% tax write-off for the consumer of the Solar Laser System. That means that the middle class war tax payer, will have some of his tax money diverted to producing Solar Laser Systems. Is this going to happen? Uhh, Naw, Not Yet! Direct heat Collection by the Solar laser System is not the only threat to business as usual. It can also produce heat for Heat Driven Refrigerators which normally run off flames from natural gas, oil, or any source of heat. It is precisely the Idea that government is sponsoring to test the focus mounted Sterling Engine. Difference is you can afford to have this one. The governments thing cost millions, it's not available even at that price, and is a model T compared to the Solar Laser Dish System. High efficiency, water cooled PV's are being tested to operate in the focal point of dish collectors.

            Water Cooled, By-Metal Electric Generators with no moving parts are being tested for focal point mounting in a dish parabolic, Heat driven Hydrogen Generation with the Solar Laser System is a possibility. The possibilities for this system is limitless. I guess for now we will be stuck with just the best $/BTU value in solar history, little known, growing slowly, and operating at little to negative profit. So to sum it up Steve, my old friend, should we subsidize the Solar Laser System? Certainly not, it would be totally against oil wars! Next time your down this way we'll have some more beer.

Dennis Cofield

For more information e-mail us at acrosolar@elp.rr.com

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