@Marnus: Several people have suggested various heat-harvesting ideas. I can’t speak for the designers, but I’m thinking there are two reasons SUNRGI hasn’t done this: keeping the cost down, and prioritizing the reliability of their system. More stuff means more to break, though I agree there’s heat a-wasting.

Is the method of conversion at the higher temperature much better??

Otherwise I don’t see how this helps.

Wow that has to be one of the best ideas I’ve seen in adapting a current technology to operate even more efficiently.

Perhaps a business will place these on their roof and some of the generated heat will be taken absorbed by the water and run used in the building. The only question is would the energy used by pumping the water be less then the energy of conventional heating? Anyone have an idea of the power necessary to move water up about 10 stories? Or how at what height (and temp) it becomes more efficient to use conventional heating methods?

I’m sure that on a large warehouse type building (low to the ground) this would be an excellent way to cover all of the hot water needs.

But I guess that will take another decade…

We’ve really left alternative energy development too late: the cheap oil is gone, and building new infrastructure will take decades. But I’m convinced that if we get over the hump, the Age of Fossil Fuels will seem as quaint to our immediate descendants as the Bronze Age seemed to those who learned to hammer their world flat in iron and steel.

Who’d have thought that all those little leaf fires we started was the secret to helping our planet!

This is quite exciting technology!

Thanks for sharing Chris… great news!

peace,

tj