Solar SLED - Google Green Idea submission

[Tom]

For a web version of this see  http://www.gothim.com/solarsled.html

I have entered the Google 10^100 Green Idea competition (http://www.project10tothe100.com) and I am looking for people to VOTE for my idea which is a way to monitor Solar Panels to keep them operating to maximum output, which is one of the major problems associated with solar panels. I call it the Solar SLED (Sun Light Efficiency Detector).



The voting does not start until January, so I am asking you to allow me to contact you when it is time to vote.

Register Here http://www.gothim.com/register.html <======= PLEASE DO THIS!!!

 
I have patented the idea, built a prototype (Freescale Flexis QE128) and am looking for a way to bring this to market. Winning this competition will enable me to accelerate the development of the software required to complete this system by constructing several full-scale models.

We have hundreds, if not thousands, of megawatts (MW) of solar power in this country and none of them are being monitored individually so we are wasting 100’s of MW per day. With current electric rates at around $0.10/KWH (or $100/MWH) that adds up quickly.

To help understand why this is important, take a quick look at my tongue and cheek video


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbme_cHnF1A

To put this in perspective, if only 1 in 20 panels are not working at all that is only a 5% reduction in output, which may be noticed if they are watching very closely, but the SLED can easily detect this!

To date, Google has received over 150,000 entries and now they will pick what they feel are the best 100 (YES only 100).

Of those 100 ideas, people like you will be able to vote for the top 20 and then Google will select up to 5 for funding to develop the project!



Thanks for reading this,

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE ELSE YOU KNOW THAT MAY BE INTERESTED!

Tom

[sixty_something]

hey, Tom, great idea!

i own an old and very sturdy (it survived the recent Hurricane Ike un scathed) home built in 1938 in my home town on the upper Texas gulf coast .. i am now renting it, but it has long been my goal to retro fit it with green technology, especially solar panels, for lower operating costs in my retirement years .. i have not yet started and have no budget for it at present, but when you need a test site i have the roof space and plenty of sun exposure

i subscribed to your mailing list and look forward to casting a vote for you and checking out the other entrants .. thanks for advising us of your project .. your idea looks promising - good luck with it!

for those of you who may not know Tom, he is a very active volunteer in FIBSland who hosts, maintains, and continues to develop TourneyBot which has hosted many tourneys at FIBS .. i work with him regularly and continue to pester him with ideas on TourneyBot design and improvement .. so, sign up and help him spread the word about his unique idea