Uses for Large Mirrors, whats your ideas folks.?

Hello All
I guess this could cross with alternative building as well, so think along those lines as well

I am about to acquire some rather Large Mirrors, 3 of them are 12'x2.5' and 4 are 6'x3'. there free and where going to be thrown away anyway so i figured i should try to save them. i was thinking about taking them to a glass shop or maybe trying to cut them my self to a more manageable size to use as a backing for some homemade solar panels. and no i don't need them on my bedroom ceiling, (you know someone one would suggest it if i didn't say it don't you ).

So what other uses could you think of for them??? im just looking for ideas seems a shame to let them be wasted

edited due of stupidity on my part

I would use them to reflect light onto existing solar panels, or use them inside your house to take advantage of natural light or you could mount them outside your windows to direct more light in.

Hay Mark thanks for the response
i am soon to start a small home and had planed on putting a porch atrium/greenhouse/aquaponics setup onto the south face wonder how i could use the mirrors in something like that

Mark Rose wrote:I would use them to reflect light onto existing solar panels, or use them inside your house to take advantage of natural light or you could mount them outside your windows to direct more light in.

You could install them in the opening of a sky light to reflect more light into the room. You could make one heck of a solar oven. Backing for hot water solar panels might work. helping to increase the proformance of a water evaporator to generate clean drinking water. Increasing the out put of PVC electric panels. Line a cold frame with them. Any of these ideas might work, or they might cause you problems. I have never had large mirrors to work with, just throughing out ideas.

Hello Mike, Thanks for the suggestions
Quick Question though, What is a Cold Frame. sorry ive not heard that term before.?

Mike Dayton wrote:You could install them in the opening of a sky light to reflect more light into the room. You could make one heck of a solar oven. Backing for hot water solar panels might work. helping to increase the proformance of a water evaporator to generate clean drinking water. Increasing the out put of PVC electric panels. Line a cold frame with them. Any of these ideas might work, or they might cause you problems. I have never had large mirrors to work with, just throughing out ideas.

I picked up some fair sized mirrors on Freecycle. I had no plans for them, and they still sit in the barn, but they are just too darn handy to pass up.

If used to direct sunlight onto/into the home they would offer considerable gain at 162 sqft. Placed south of the home, they would be more flat-a problem if you are in snow country. If placed north of the home, they would be more upright, allowing snow and debris to fall off more readily. Being of such a large area, you would get the sun reflected on your home for long periods without a tracking device. In the AM it would warm the west side, in the PM it would warm the east side. Blocking the reflection beyond the house may be needed for nearby traffic concerns.

Summer use would be to reflect light for a cooler home. Reflect it into the swimming pool.

How about the north wall of a greenhouse. No sunshine coming through that wall. Insulate it, keep the place warmer. Hang the mirrors, make the place brighter.

6x3 is a fine size for the back of a pass-through food dehydrator.

This is my favorite solar cooker. It's a parabola rather than your large flat sheets, but the area is akin to what you have.

I once worked in a restaurant that had several private dining rooms. One was the Crystal Room. It featured floor to ceiling mirrors on every wall. It made no impact on energy efficiency, but offered a unique experience aesthetically.

12'x2.5' may fit the wall between upper and lower kitchen cabinets.

Resell to a Big and Tall clothing store?

If you hunt...Ghost Blind.

I've used a 4'x6' framed mirror as a "White Board." As mentioned above, it added needed light in a dark wod-paneled room at the same time it served as a "Thought Incubator" and project planner.

Depending on what project or use you decide for them, here are a couple configurations for gathering, concentrating, and reflecting light to play with.

Someone mentioned maintaining awareness of the hazards of reflected light — which dangers are multiplied with such powerful light beams

Fresnel lenses, how headlights and lighthouses throw a concentrated beam a long way

And old satellite dishes, which are parabolic reflectors (if lined with reflectors) or collectors.

If I scored those I would put one in the bathroom over the sink so I could look at myself.

For the other two, I would put them in the garden to help plants get more sun and to also create a microclimate.

Here are some suggestions:

https://permies.com/t/35863/mirrors-reflect-light-heat-assist

https://permies.com/t/115097/mirrors-dark-area-garden

Edit to say: I love these older threads, thanks for reviving this one.

Solar ovens

Thekla McDaniels wrote:... old satellite dishes, which are parabolic reflectors (if lined with reflectors) or collectors.

That prompts me to think about using small pieces of mirror glued to the reflector side of a satellite dish, like a reflective mosaic. I want to play with that idea, see what I can do with it!

Lif Strand wrote: That prompts me to think about using small pieces of mirror glued to the reflector side of a satellite dish, like a reflective mosaic. I want to play with that idea, see what I can do with it!

I once visited a building which had put small strips of mirror around the edge of a skylight to help bounce the light around. I have definitely heard of small dishes being used for solar ovens, by adding a reflective surface, but not sure they used mirrors.

Many years ago, there was a fellow who lived at the intersection of two roads. The crossing was lit by a streetlight. The guy, who happened to have little money, positioned a mirror in one window to catch the light of the streetlamp. Then he put mirrors in every room of his house to bounce the light from room to room. To turn off the light in a particular room, he just turned that room's mirror. And when he went to bed at night, he turned off all the lights by just moving the number one mirror. It worked great, and it certainly was inexpensive.

On our farm, we raised rabbits. Some cages we kept in the barn. We did the same as that old man down to the corner. We put mirrors the full length of the cages and lit them with reflected sunlight. The rabbits were happier with plenty of light. We saved on not having to use light bulbs. And we didn't have to turn the lights off at night. It was a self-regulating system.

~~One note though. Someone suggested using mirrors in gardens. By careful. If you have a light rain or heavy dew, the reflected sunlight could burn plant leaves where the "extra" sun hits the water spots.

Lif Strand wrote:

Thekla McDaniels wrote:... old satellite dishes, which are parabolic reflectors (if lined with reflectors) or collectors.

That prompts me to think about using small pieces of mirror glued to the reflector side of a satellite dish, like a reflective mosaic. I want to play with that idea, see what I can do with it!

I've seen that done a few different ways.  Using dark pans, people were able to easily cook with them.
Using a 6ft satellite dish, he was able to do some crude blacksmithing.

I've seen light tubes installed with pleasant results.

Jim Fry wrote:Many years ago, there was a fellow who lived at the intersection of two roads. The crossing was lit by a streetlight. The guy, who happened to have little money, positioned a mirror in one window to catch the light of the streetlamp. Then he put mirrors in every room of his house to bounce the light from room to room. To turn off the light in a particular room, he just turned that room's mirror. And when he went to bed at night, he turned off all the lights by just moving the number one mirror. It worked great, and it certainly was inexpensive.

On our farm, we raised rabbits. Some cages we kept in the barn. We did the same as that old man down to the corner. We put mirrors the full length of the cages and lit them with reflected sunlight. The rabbits were happier with plenty of light. We saved on not having to use light bulbs. And we didn't have to turn the lights off at night. It was a self-regulating system.

~~One note though. Someone suggested using mirrors in gardens. By careful. If you have a light rain or heavy dew, the reflected sunlight could burn plant leaves where the "extra" sun hits the water spots.

Remember when a tornado hit Greensburg, Kansas?
After they rebuilt the high school, I had an in-depth conversation with one of the teachers.  They had used curved mirrors on the north corner of the roof to bring light into the rooms on the north side of the building.  They said it worked well and cut down on electricity usage.

Not nearly as dramatic as some suggestions here, I use mirror behind the shelving in my glassware cabinets, essentially those facing my south windows. I live in an earth sheltered home, windows on the south only, and I put mirrors everywhere.

roberta mccanse wrote:Not nearly as dramatic as some suggestions here, I use mirror behind the shelving in my glassware cabinets, essentially those facing my south windows. I live in an earth sheltered home, windows on the south only, and I put mirrors everywhere.

That sounds beautiful Roberta, do you get sparkles and bits of rainbows thrown around the room?

I keep getting perfectly good large mirrors out of the trash and hanging them in my gym. The nice thing about it is it's a good way to store mirrors temporarily: just hang them up where they're useful, then if you want to make a solar oven later or whatever, just take them down and do it. (Not that I have yet...I can easily check my form from all angles though!)

Put one on the north side of the house and use a tracker so it always shines light in through a north window.
I know a bit of a complicated project but doable.
There was a guy who used to come to the energy fair MREA and set up a display.
He made trackers and built "things".
He could make it so a mirror would shine sunlight on the same spot all day.
Someone paid him to have it light a sign on the side of a building,.. during the day.