| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| bagpuss |
Curtains to provide solar powerAn interesting ideaSolar textiles |
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| RichardW |
Yeh that will work.
When I shut the curtains is normaly because ITS NIGHT TIME Solar powered curtains almost as bad as the solar bra. Richard |
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| Frewen |
When it's hot I shut the curtains upstair to keep it a bit cooler - so I suppose I could keep the curtains shut upstairs most of the time? 
Batteries in hem pockets sounds a bit of a faff I prefer my toupee idea 
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| bagpuss |
having the curtains closed on the sunny side of the house in order to keep the place cooler though (with this temperature increase we are going to get) might work as a stratergy |
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| thos |
Shutters on the outside would be more effective. They also need clear line-of-sight to the sun. Hey, how about putting the collectors on the roof? Bet noone's thought of that! |
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| Northern_Lad |
Bit tricky when you live in an apartment. Shutters, however, would work well as they're often closed to keep the sun out. |
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| Northern_Lad |
Tell us more of this product... |
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| Maxwell Smart |
depending on how durable it is - it would be great to have bags made out of it. that way you can charge your phone or whatever while its in your satchel... | ||||
| RichardW |
We had a thread on it recently The angle of the wall to the sun is so far out from ideal the % energy lost would be huge if you use solar curtains / shutters. Better to let that energy into the house using passive heating & store it for the night time. |
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| Northern_Lad |
Hmm, not as impressive as one may have hoped for. Shame. | ||||
| thos |
The shutters are because it's too hot - the idea is to keep the room cool and generate electricity, not heat. |
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| RichardW |
What I ment to say was that solar panels have a ideal angle of inclination to the sun (verticaly & horizontaly). Outside of this angle power drops of quickly. Thats why side ways tracking panels are better & if you can also alter the verticle angle (most cant cos they are roof mounted) you will get the best results.
Richard |
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| vegplot |
Most modern panels will sit horizontally i.e. facing straight up without too much degradation in performance compared to an optimum angle static panel. However, you can achieve up to 30% better performance by use solar tracking. As panel technology improves so should the ability to use indirect solar radiation but this depends on the technology used to some extent.
The interesting thing about solar curtains is that the material can incorporated into a flexible material. How efficient it is is another matter. |
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| vegplot |
Velux blinds. |
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| Helen_A |
Yep, that could work in this house...
... one year I discovered that if I closed the curtains and windows before the day got hot, then the house stayed pretty cool... by the end of the summer I'd also realised that I could keep even the south facing rooms almost cold if I covered the windows properly (think I left the black out blind up in DDs room one day?) and all those windows got a layer or two of newspaper. Was enough to let in enough light whilst keeping everything comfortable 
Helen_A |