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.