3 ms·

> doesn't need more water >improves magnificently with high temperatures Thermal solar is a solar heat energy source + classic steam turbine. The efficiency o

• Jedd 6y ago
  > Increasing both the hot and cold side temperatures equally would not increase efficiency ... Hence the C in CSP. Contemporary molten salt CSPs operate at ~700C, so the difference between the concentrator and ambient air temperature would be 3% (at 25C) and 6% (at 45C). In other words, a 3% difference. Perhaps measurable at the output, but certainly not significant. New CSP designs are coming along that are working around 1000C, which would render that delta even more negligible. In contrast, while PV cells vary, I believe max power temperature coefficients of around 0.4% / 1C is a standard figure. That means at 25C your panels are losing 10% of max capacity, but at 45C that number goes up to 25%. A massive reduction in capability.
  • labawi 6y ago
    I was merely pointing out that CSP efficiency likely doesn't increase with increasing ambient temperature, it's just inherently more tolerant. As an aside, your calculations are improper, even though results are close enough. 0℃ is merely 273.15K and the temperature at which water tends to freeze. E.g. PV efficiency is usually quoted at 25℃ (or 300K), so at -20℃ they could generate cca 120% of "max" (rated) capacity.