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BSdetect

(8,994 posts) Thu Jul 25, 2019, 07:03 PM Jul 2019

New solar technology

https://www.sciencealert.com/device-that-channels-heat-into-light-could-boost-solar-efficiency-to-80-percent

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New solar technology (Original Post) BSdetect Jul 2019 OP

Highly doubtful... but if it works effectively it wouldn't be for solar FBaggins Jul 2019 #1

FBaggins

(26,721 posts)

1. Highly doubtful... but if it works effectively it wouldn't be for solar

Reply to BSdetect (Original post)

Thu Jul 25, 2019, 08:03 PM

Jul 2019

Converting heat directly to electricity (i.e., without converting water to steam) is already possible... it’s just remarkably expensive. If there was a way to do it cheaply, you wouldn’t waste money by pairing it with solar (that still only works when the sun is shining). Steam generators (nuclear, coal, gas, geothermal) necessarily waste ~2/3 of their energy as heat and they produce that heat 24/7.

If they could actually do this cost effectively it would be game changing. They could cut carbon emissions from generation in half without substantial change to the existing grid.

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