2 ms·
The thermal 'inertia' of concentrated solar power may be cost competitive with PV solar and batteries. You can use the mass of the concentrator target as a the
by datadrivenangel 2y ago
The thermal 'inertia' of concentrated solar power may be cost competitive with PV solar and batteries.
You can use the mass of the concentrator target as a thermal battery effectively, as the conversation of sunlight to electrical energy is not instantaneous like solar PV.
- mapt 2y agoAlmost anything you can do with concentrated PV, I can do better with photovoltaic and a resistor immersed in the same thermal storage medium. It is wildly more versatile in the face of clouds and piping + insulation costs.
- remipch 2y agoWhat do you mean by "better"? There are several aspects to consider. Indeed the advantage of your photovoltaic solution is versatility in the face of clouds and lower mechanical costs. But the drawback is the larger panel area, higher panel cost and probably shorter panel lifetime. Photovoltaic efficiency is about 20%, while even low-cost mirrors reflect 90% of the energy. It really depends on the specific application and the answer does not seem so obvious to me.