Whispergen Stirling Engine
The Stirling Engine was invented back in 1816 as an alternative to high pressure
steam engines which had a tendency to explode. This for some more than minor
shortcoming was the mother of invention behind the stirling engine.
Rather than using pressure, Stirling Engines rely on the temperature differential to drive pistons.
Very simply put when you heat a gas in a closed space it expands and will push a
piston down. Remove the heat and the cooling gas will decrease the pressure and
"suck" the piston back in.
To make a practical working engine you will need at least two cylinders,
because cooling and heating both take some time and is inefficient because
when we heat the gas we also heat the cylinder, pistons etc. So we usually
divide the engine in a cold and a hot side.
A nice small
 ,
a gadget but a nice one.
Heat pumps are very efficient in transferring Energy, so is the
Stirling
Although
eventually losing out to internal combustion engines, Stirling engines have made
a recent comeback as an alternative energy source. When we heat our homes The Whispergen Stirling
engine is a commercial product that provides residential electricity, heat, and
hot water.
The Whispergen - Using Excess heat from out Heating and Hot water
installations to generate Electricity
The Whispergen is about the size of a washing machine and is designed to be
practically maintenance free. One of the major drawbacks of Stirling Engines has
been the limited life-span of seals and guides. Whispergen has solved this
problem with the patented Wobble Yoke system which converts the up and down
motion of the pistons into the rotary motion necessary for driving a generator.
The Wobble Yoke puts very little side load on the piston seals which results in
longer lasting parts.
The Whispergen operates on natural gas and has a 90% energy efficiency. It can
replace both the hot water tank and space heater and provide supplemental
electricity to the household. Excess electricity can be fed back to the power
grid for a credit on the utility bill.
The unit is controlled with a microprocessor which requires very little user
interaction. There is very little noise and vibration associated with this
Stirling engine and it runs quieter than most home appliances.
The gas input is fed to a burner which heats the Stirling engine. Exhaust heat
is recovered and fed to the water heater. Water is heated further as it passes
through the engine. This hot water is used as tap water and also to feed the hot
water heating system.
The
Whispergen,offers environmental
benefits as well as cost benefits to the consumer. By generating electricity
during peak demand hours it can help to reduce loads on the power utility
company, and excess electricity can be fed back into the grid to further reduce
demands for power. In addition, the Whispergen reduces greenhouse emissions.
We gathered a nice array
of books, kits and science experiments about the Stirling Engine
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