Stirling engine (again) and dont shoot the messenger...

[MidOhioValleySolar]

Ok, I am going to give some local information about the Stirling engine and a unique company, so take it for what it is worth. I am reading this information from the headlines. I know the topic of this technology has been discussed and described as a museum relic in past posts but....

In my backyard, Athens Ohio, a small company called Sunpower, was recently (1/2013) acquired by Ameteck (NYSE, AME) for undisclosed amount. AME is a large engineering firm with 2011 revenue of 3 billion.

Sunpower, which makes cryocoolers and the externally heated, free-piston type, Stirling engines, was founded in 1964 by Ohio University professor William Beale.

On the Sunpower company website, there is a description of the use of their technology to convert solar energy to electricity more efficiently (38%) than commercial solar PV. There is a pic of a Sunpower Stirling engine mounted on a solar concentrator in Houston Tx.

Lastly, the company makes the comment that their Stirling engine, "scales down well" and has a sweet spot below 10kw for smaller, distributed locations.

So in summary, maybe this technology is not dead and possibly Ameteck has determined that they can finally commericalize the free-piston Stirling engine to operate using solar radiation during the day and an alternative fuel in the evening.

Regards,

Lance

[russ]

Ok, I am going to give some local information about the Stirling engine and a unique company, so take it for what it is worth. I am reading this information from the headlines. I know the topic of this technology has been discussed and described as a museum relic in past posts but....

I am sure they are looking for investors - read that as suckers.

[solarside]

It's possible that with some of the materials research NASA funds we may see some really cool stuff come from this. The high temperatures are something NASA works with all the time so there may be materials that can hold up to the daily abuse these things get. Then again, PV prices keep dropping.

[Sunking]

It's possible that with some of the materials research NASA funds we may see some really cool stuff come from this.

Get real and quit dreaming. The Sterling Engine is 197 years old. Not once since then has it ever been put into meaningful service due to a lack of extremely poor efficiency and power. It is a mature technology that has no more improvement left in it like an 8-Track tape.

[peakbagger]

Sterlings do have limited commerical use for cryrocoolers. Its niche market. Havent heard muhc of Dean Kamens sterling in a few years.

[solarside]

Get real and quit dreaming. The Sterling Engine is 197 years old. Not once since then has it ever been put into meaningful service due to a lack of extremely poor efficiency and power. It is a mature technology that has no more improvement left in it like an 8-Track tape.

And new technology cars are not running past 250,000 miles now days due to better metal producing technology. OK, that's not real. The space shuttle needed ceramic tiles to do re-entry at high temps and be re-usable, that's not a new technology that might apply to this? And what about Aerogel? http://www.ask.com/wiki/Aerogel

No, there is no new technology that can be applied, everything has been invented and thought up so let's all go home and watch TV.

[russ]

And new technology cars are not running past 250,000 miles now days due to better metal producing technology. OK, that's not real. The space shuttle needed ceramic tiles to do re-entry at high temps and be re-usable, that's not a new technology that might apply to this? And what about Aerogel? http://www.ask.com/wiki/Aerogel

No, there is no new technology that can be applied, everything has been invented and thought up so let's all go home and watch TV.

You want to play wise guy then come up with something we haven't heard of Aerogel is not new by any stretch of the mind - developed by a teenager for that matter.

When people dust off loser technology and ask for great things what can one think?

There are too many new inventions being brought out every day - usually smaller components of something larger but not always.

[Dragonhand]

Sterling is alive but may be not exactly well

There are actually several manufacturers of small Stirling generators and in various countries. It is more like a Renaissance than anything else apart from the material issues at high temperatures the most critical point is probably the lubrication that needs to be solid (like graphite). Another question is how long time this renaissance will last. There seems to be some high efficiency cheap Peltier type generators on the way.