Solar thermal fuels convert light to heat -- someday . . .

One way to convert Solar light to burnable fuel is to use it to "Crack" water into Hydrogen and oxygen. bottle the first. breath the 2nd and burn baby burn when you re-mix and light her up. This method has been suggested in science fiction.

profdant139 wrote:
This technology is a long way off, if it ever arrives. But it looks like it could be scaled down for RV use:

Article on solar thermal fuels

It's fun to dream about small portable quiet energy sources -- boondocking off the grid, with plenty of heat and power. If only they would let us transport little nuclear power units, like the ones on military satellites. ;)

Dan,

How about this RV power technology in the meantime ... no noise, turns on and off automatically to keep batteries topped, powered 2-4 weeks from a container of methanol alcohol:
https://www.efoy-comfort.com/how-it-works
https://www.efoy-comfort.com/which-model#mobile-homes-h

Phil --

Interesting! It looks like fuel cells are getting to be more and more useful. I wish they had a dealership in the US.

If you skip the liquid part, the technology to convert sunlight into usable fuel has been around (and used) for many millennia. Growing up, we heated our house with solar energy...slightly indirectly, using wood as an intermediary storage medium.

That's not to suggest that this isn't a cool and technology being developed, nor one that has the potential to be of significant value, of course.

efoy claims to have a whole lot of dealers in the US, if you select 'Marine'.

I tried 4 of the linked websites. One wouldn't load, two had no search function, and the fourth one had a search function that turned up no results.

Phil, have you found a price for these units anywhere?

Naio wrote:
efoy claims to have a whole lot of dealers in the US, if you select 'Marine'.

I tried 4 of the linked websites. One wouldn't load, two had no search function, and the fourth one had a search function that turned up no results.

Phil, have you found a price for these units anywhere?

Here's a typical marine dealer in Seattle that sells EFOY fuel cells, with prices shown if you click on each product's VIEW DETAILS tab. Note that the fuel cells at first may be considered as "expensive", but for the money you're getting probably a lifetime (not counting alcohol costs) of RV power for drycamping with your batteries kept quietly full 24/7, rain or shine, day or night, sun or no sun, and inside or outside of "generator hours". (Also, recall that Onan generators can cost $3k-$5K new.): https://www.fisheriessupply.com/efoy-comfort

I'd sure consider an EFOY fuel cell if -> I was just starting out as a younger RV'er, didn't already own a 4KW Onan, didn't already own a very quiet 650 watt Honda generator, and didn't already own a super quiet to idle V10 powered RV with it's 130 amp alternator.

The smallest unit is $3,000 and puts out 3.3 A; 40 watts. The only conditions under which this would make more sense than a small solar system is in the far north where there are months of no sun.

Doug

As a matter of interest. HOW Gasoline or diesel fuel is made...

Sun shines on plants. they capture CO2 out of the air and contain it using the power of the sun to fuel the conversion. Eventually they die and decompose into oil. We drill . bring the oil up. "Crack" it into Gasoline, Diesel fuel and other stuff. then burn it releasing the CO and CO2 back into the atmosphere where trees. Grass and flowers .. Using the power of the sun. Again "Trap" the carbon.

SO what you are burning now is solar fuel.

doughere wrote:
The smallest unit is $3,000 and puts out 3.3 A; 40 watts. The only conditions under which this would make more sense than a small solar system is in the far north where there are months of no sun.
Doug

Yeah, but ... for their smallest unit (Comfort 80) that can happen continuously for 24 hours every day if needed ... that's 80% of a 100AH battery restored to full charge every day under ANY conditions (unlike solar).

Does your RV consume more than 80% of a 100 AH battery every day? If it does, get the next size up EFOY unit.

The EFOY units are for absolute power independence from outside conditions for replenishment of RV battery bank power... their purpose is not to compete with solar - price-wise - for the few hours a day/week that the sun may be shining.

IMHO, they're great technology that's about the finest out there for 24/7/365 RV battery energy replenishment at this time. But as usual, you have to figure out how to pay for this kind of service if it is of value to you.

Thanks, Phil.

For that price, I would think more about getting a giant EV lithium battery.