* Base, or Mounting Structure - This is pretty self-explanatory. You need something to keep the device in place.
* Solar Dish - This is a concave mirror which is used to focus sunlight on one central location, the heat engine. A mirror which focuses the sun is also called a "heliostat."
* Heat Engine - This is the device which converts heat in to motion. The motion turns a generator, to create electricity.
* Motor and Motor Controls - The motor and controls here keep the solar dish pointed directly toward the sun, in order to ensure that the maximum amount of sunlight is collected and reflected onto the heat engine throughout the day.
How Does a Solar-Dish Engine Work?
A solar dish converts solar power into electricity, by collecting sunlight and focusing it onto a heat engine (which, as its name implies, uses heat in order to create motion.) As the heat-engine is heated by the concentrated sunlight, it starts to turn. The motion generated is then used to drive an electrical generator, which creates electricity.
At this time, using a solar dish engine is the most effective way of turning solar energy into electricity. It can transform up to 30% of the solar energy it receives into electricity. Most other methods of collecting solar energy are only about 20% efficient. This makes it a particularly efficient source of clean alternative energy.
History
"Okay," you might ask yourself at this point, "How can a solar dish-engine have a history? It's a new invention".
Well, in actual fact, the first one was built in 1901.
At the time, it was called a "solar motor." It used the exact same parts and principles as its modern counterpart uses.
The heat engine that a solar dish uses is an even older invention. It was first invented in 1816 by Dr. Robert Stirling (that's almost 200 years ago now) before conventional fuel or diesel engines existed.
This makes one wander how many other historical inventions are going to be reinvented and passed off as modern technology!
