Solar "Concentrator" Makes Heat For Farm Buildings

Solar Concentrator Makes Heat For Farm Buildings BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Instead of electricity Craig Murray s solar concentrator captures the sun s rays at a precise focal point to generate heat That heat is transferred to water that s pumped to radiators inside buildings ù similar to the way outdoor wood boilers are set up Murray s first Ontario customer is a poultry farmer who heats a 60 by 300-ft barn I ve measured temps as high as 600 degrees at the focal point Murray says pointing to a vertical unit connected to two 12 by 12-ft solar panels It s like a great big mirror that takes the rays from the sun and directs them to a focal point The panels are curved and have dual access tracking so they move with the sun from east to west as well as up and down At night they reposition themselves toward the east They are also programmed to go into a safe horizontal position if winds reach 40 mph or more The concentrator contains 50 ft of copper tubing which heats a mix of food-grade glycol and linseed oil that runs through pipes 4-ft underground below the frost line to a 500-gal holding tank of water with a heat exchanger The water heats up to a maximum of 220 degrees and flows through a radiator attached to a fan In the barn Murray helped set up 12 radiator units generate 360 000 btu s of heat A backup radiant propane heater provides heat on cloudy days The farmer hopes to save about $8 000 annually in heating costs and believes the $80 000 investment in the solar system will pay for itself in less than 10 years Murray hopes to make the solar concentrator useful year round by producing steam to power a steam generator for electricity The London Ont entrepreneur says his systems can be designed for agriculture commercial business and even residential customers He is open to hearing from dealers/distributors in Canada and the U S interested in his system Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Murray Power And Generation 406 S Leaksdale Circle London Ont Canada N6M 1K4 ph 226 777-2671; www murraypowerandgeneration com

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