Claims
- 1. A power generating system, comprisingan evaporator; and a condenser fluidly connected in a closed-loop by a high pressure conduit and a low pressure conduit for supporting said evaporator in a position exposed to solar enegy and for supporting said condenser in a large heat sink, said large heat sink comprising a body of water, said evaporator being positioned above said condenser to provide at least some shading to said condenser.
- 2. A power generating system, comprising an evaporator; and a condenser fluidly connected in a closed-loop by a high pressure conduit and a low pressure conduit for supporting said evaporator in a position exposed to solar energy and for supporting said condenser in a large heat sink, said large heat sink comprising a body of water, said condenser comprising a plurality of fluid-communicating condenser tubes arranged in a pattern and having appropriate dimensions to therodynamically optimize the exchange of heat between said refrigerant and said body.
- 3. A power generating system, comprising an evaporator; and a condenser fluidly connected in a closed-loop by a high pressure conduit and a low pressure conduit for supporting said evaporator in a position exposed to solar energy and for supporting said condenser in a large heat sink, said large heat sink comprising a body of water, said evaporator comprising a pluralty of evaporator tubes arranged in a pattern and having appropriate dimensions to thermodynamically optimize the absorption of solar energy into said refrigerant.
- 4. A power generating system, comprising an evaporator; and a condenser fluidly connected in a closed-loop by a high pressure conduit and a low pressure conduit for supporting said evaporator in a position exposed to solar energy and for supporting said condenser in a large heat sink, said large heat sink comprising a body of water, said evaporator being positioned within a collector housing whose upper surface comprises a transparent or translucent material to acheive a greenhouse effect about said evaporator and thereby minimize undesired heat loss from said evaporator.
- 5. A method for electrical power generation, comprising the steps of: employing solar energy to evaporate a refrigerant from a liquid state to a high pressure gaseous state, flowing the high pressure gaseous refrigerant through a prime mover operatively connected to an electrical power generator to generate electrical power, employing large heat sink to condense the refrigerant to a liquid state, said large heat sink comprising a body of water, and shadowing a portion of the body of water that is utilized to condense the refrigerant.
- 6. A method for electrical power generation, comprising the steps of: connecting an evaporator and a condenser fully in a closed-loop by a high pressure conduit and a low pressure conduit for supporting said evaporator in a position exposed to solar energy and for supporting said condenser in a large heat sink composed of a body of water and positioning the evaporator above said condenser to provide at least some shading to said condenser.
- 7. A method for electrical power generation, comprising the steps of: connecting an evaporator and a condenser fully in a closed-loop by a high pressure conduit and a low pressure conduit for supporting said evaporator in a position exposed to solar energy and for supporting said condenser in a large heat sink composed of a body of water and thermodynamically optimizing the exchange of heat between said refrigerant in said condenser and said body of water.
- 8. A method for electrical power generation, comprising the steps of: connecting an evaporator and a condenser fully in a closed-loop by a high pressure conduit and a low pressure conduit for supporting said evaporator in a position exposed to solar energy and for supporting said condenser in a large heat sink composed of a body of water and thermodynamically optimizing the absorption of solar energy into said refrigerant in said evaporator.
- 9. A method for electrical power generation, comprising the steps of: connecting an evaporator and a condenser fully in a closed-loop by a high pressure conduit and a low pressure conduit for supporting said evaporator in a position exposed to solar energy and for supporting said condenser in a large heat sink composed of a body of water and positionaing a collector housing whose upper surface comprises a transparent or translucent material to acheive a greenhouse effect about said evaporator thereby minimizing undesired heat loss from said evaporator.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application entitled “Solar-Based Power Generating System”, filed Mar. 8, 2001, Ser. No. 60/274,085, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/274085 |
Mar 2001 |
US |