Testing of 2.5kW low temperature stirling engine for distributed solar thermal generation

This paper describes initial stage of experimentation on a 2.5 kW Stirling engine designed for distributed solar thermal electric and combined heat applications. Experimentation conducted over this period include testing of the integrated permanent magnet alternator, testing of various losses such as flow friction and running losses, heat exchanger fluid flow characteristics, while driven in reverse as a heat pump. This paper will include a brief description of the intended design and applications, a description of the experiments thus far, and a comparison with prior analysis from the design phase.