| Inflatable Solar Panel Doubles As Pool Toy |
| Written by Hank Green | ||
| Tuesday, 29 April 2008 | ||
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OK, apparently the "Solar Store" is an advanced solar thermal collection device - but it sure looks like a pool toy. The device, patented by a British company, IDC, will be mass-produced and sold for $200 a piece. It can be packed into a very small area, but inflates into a two-meter square panel. Water, running through the panel, is heated by the sun before exiting the panel and being stored in traditional hot water tanks. Initial use will be in developing nations, but because the device is so cheap, IDC says that they provide significantly faster ROI than current solar water heaters installed throughout the developed world. Though it looks to me like they're going to have to do some work proving that the panel is durable (it doesn't look like it is) and effective, it seems like it has promise to me. The questions I'm left asking, if it's going to be on my roof, are :
Keep reading for an illustration of how the heater works.
Comments
(9)
Additional Questions
written by nicster , April 29, 2008
agreed
written by matt , April 29, 2008
I have to agree - this looks extremely light-weight (an asset in some applications, but not necessarily this one). How long until we can get some real world metrics on how it performs?
cold
written by jonno , April 29, 2008
the only problem is that you are depriving all of those siberians and canadians and greenlanders next-to-free hot water
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written by Bob Wallace , April 29, 2008
The air is not going to insulate the bottom of the mattress. Heat is going to be lost out the bottom.
If you want a low tech solution just get a 100' roll of black poly pipe and circulate your water through that. I've had many an enjoyable hot tub soak using poly heated water. If you want something durable, well the developing world is already making quite nice batch solar water heaters in little workshops all over the world. At least all over Asia.
Error
written by Kevin Walsh , April 30, 2008
Double-layerd, monocrystaline, silicon wafers do not hold the record on efficiency. I would bet that this panel even beats that 40% PV mark. Converting light to heat can easily be done more efficiently than PV tech.
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written by LARA , April 30, 2008
Seems massively pricey at $200. Love the comparison to a pool toy, that's really accurate! I have to agree with Bob Wallace about the developing world. When I was living in South America there were black plastic tanks on every third or fourth home to heat water. It's kind of ironic how many 'poorer' countries are ahead of us when is comes to many cheap and effective environmental solutions.
when/where can i buy one?
written by bradleyjones , April 30, 2008
sounds perfect for my quixotic situation. a good hot water system sounds like a steal at $200 coming from an american who hasn't got one.
so - WHEN/WHERE CAN I BUY ONE?!?!?! yes, i googled it, but i'm not the best researcher. besides, my tractors is stuck. i should really be working righ tnow.
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written by Robert Requa , July 16, 2008
We are interested in locating more information and particularly the manufacturer of this product; can you assist?
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written by Robert Requa , July 16, 2008
Please contact me through my e-mail -
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
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OK, yeah, we need to make solar panels cheaper, but this is ridiculous. While double-layerd, monocrystaline, silicon wafers hold records for efficiency, they lose when it comes to cost per unit of useful energy captured. So, moving to the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have this...pool toy?
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5. When it's installed on a slanted roof, how much pressure will be on the bottom rows?
6. Will the tubes be strong enough to hold up under that pressure when heated and after years of UV light?