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How would a heat engine using this compare to photoelectric cells for energy generation?
by User23 8y ago
How would a heat engine using this compare to photoelectric cells for energy generation?
- dredmorbius 8y agoLook to Carnot vs photoelectric efficiency, modulo fabrication costs, maintenance, and operating life. Carnot efficiency is dictated by the hot-cold side temperature delta. For internal combustion engines, 20-45% is fairly typical. In electrical generation, thermal energy is generally reckoned at 3x electrical generation. PV efficiency has a maximum of 37% for single-layer PV, up to a theortical maximum slightly north of 80% for an "infinite" layer cell. (Additional layers provide a diminishing return.) In practice, 40-50% is a likely maximum achievable, and at reasonable costs, 20% is frequently assumed. Additional considerations are capacity factor, spacing factor, panel angle, and inverter losses. And PV has a practical effective lifetime of about 20 years, due to numerous degradation mechanisms. See: https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/28cvgv/calculating_estimated_solar_energy_potential/ https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/28cvgv/calcula... Thermal materials such as this are likely best suited to thermal capture and direct-heating systems, as low-grade space or water (pre)heating.