The Solarflower is an open source solar energy collector which tracks the sun automatically through a simple non-electrical mechanism.
It can be made almost anywhere from common recycled and salvaged materials using basic tools and skills, is portable, has no running costs or emissions, and can produce up to kilowatts of power per device.
Depending on available resources it should take one to three unskilled people less than a week to build, and cost under $100.
Potential Applications[edit | edit source]
- Electrical production with simple steam turbine/piston, with waste heat going to oven or hot water system.
- Dome oven with integrated water system for temperature regulation and hot/pasteurized water.
- Steam distillation of water for removal of chemical, heavy metal, and biological toxins.
- Medium to large scale food dehydration, processing, and roasting.
- Conversion of fibrous organic waste into charcoal for energy storage and low smoke cooking, with coproduction of bio-oil and bio-gas.
- And any other application utilizing heat.
