How to make electricity from the sun without using solar panels?

Question

Solar panels are costly.Do you know any inexpensive way?

So that i can make one of my own.

Answer 1

you could use a water container with the sun focased on it and make it so that the water that gets heated goes out of a tube near the middle and the tube would lead to a turbine that generates electricity when water is forced through the tube( like an IV machine pump they use in hospitols only reversed so that it generates power instead of using power) then lead the tube back to the very top  to release the water.

PS basic principle behind idea is that water moves when heated and slows when cooled

HARNESS THAT ENERGY

Answer 2

There are a couple other methods under development.

One uses a fan inside a "cooling tower" and a large area covered with black tarps.  The heated air can only escape through the cooling tower in the center of the site.  The air movement turns the fan blades that spin a generator.

Another solar generator uses mirrors that track the sun and focus their energy on a large pipe.  I don't recall the contents of the pipe, but the superheated material is used to boil water generating steam to spin a turbine/generator.

Neither of these are small scale projects, and are probably far more expensive than what you're looking for.

Answer 3

Thermocouples.

But it will take a lot of them to get any useful power.

Answer 4

You can use mirrors to concentrate sunlight and boil water, but I don't know if that is cheaper. You'd need motors to keep the sunlight focused on the boiler. Or you could build a solar water heater. It doesn't generate electricity but it conserves the power an electric water heater would use.

Answer 5

Solar cells are the cheapest way to produce electrical energy directly from the sun at this time.

All other methods are experimental and not something the average person would ever want to use.

If you are an engineer with a background in designing you might be able to pull it off but odds are you are going to spend a lot of money doing development work and not produce much power.

It is possible to build you own hot water collectors to provide your domestic hot water. It is a lot of work but if you don't have the money to purchase the collectors it is an option.

Answer 6

there is no inexpensive way.... it'l cost dear since u need panels or either sensors, thermocouples...

Answer 7

Solar things are always costly... You can use concave mirrors and concentrate the heat and heat what and then steam ll be formed and then steam directed to turbines, there you go generating electricity with out solar panels...