Students have been experimenting with various passive solar heating designs, using low-cost and recycled materials.  

Solartron is a local company building the next generation of solar energy systems.  Using solar beam concentrators and systems that track the sun, Solartron have a system that is the most efficient means of collecting solar energy. By utilizing a parabolic curve, the SolarBeam hot water system focuses the sun’s intensity onto the focal point, where the absorber is located. Many kW of energy can be produced each day.  Patrick Herniak (right) demonstrates the power of this system - on a cloudy day, with no sight of the sun, a 2x4 bursts into flames after only a second in the path of the solar rays.  This photograph was taken a few years ago, and shows a prototype.  We hope to make another visit to Solartron soon, and see the latest technology in action.

Patrick Herniack explained the system, including the new PV electricity generation.











Photo credit: Shaun Whalen