3 ms·

My guess is that the cycle efficiency would be a simple Carnot cycle, and since the delta(T) is small the efficiency would be minuscule and you never measure t

My guess is that the cycle efficiency would be a simple Carnot cycle, and since the delta(T) is small the efficiency would be minuscule and you never measure the difference, never mind pay back the glass. Your better off putting floating solar panels on top

jakzurr 4y ago
Not Carnot, it's mechanical. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricit... It's not 100%, but it's not bad.
- olau 4y ago
  The comment you're replying to is discussing using heat for pressure, not electrical pumps.
  - jakzurr 4y ago
    Ah, you're absolutely right, that was my mistake. hp48fan seems correct that it would make a minuscule difference.
    - hp48fan 4y ago
41b696ef1113 4y ago
Are floating solar panels a thing? My naive assumption is that (most places) land is abundant enough that you can put solar panels everywhere. Dealing with the nature-hates-you-engineering of working with water seems like a method of last resort.
- ZeroGravitas 4y ago
  You get co-benefits of reducing water evaporation and plant growth (some places just use plastic balls for this same purpose) on the water side and on the solar side you get some cooling which increases efficiency. For existing dams the ability to share the existing connections in an area that probably isn't flat except for the water is neat.