Unfortunately in 2024 with extremely inexpensive solar cells, I don't see much future for this technology. Even fixed latitude tilt angles are coming into question given the modest cost increases that they create versus a flat or a vertical panel. It costs more to blow glass into vacuum panels than to acquire PV area.
Much of the developing world latched on to solar concentrator water heaters 10, 20, or 30 years ago, and they were common in a backpacking trip through China a decade back. It's good tech, depending on your climate, but it seems to have been superseded.
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.
Almost 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.
Comments
Unfortunately in 2024 with extremely inexpensive solar cells, I don't see much future for this technology. Even fixed latitude tilt angles are coming into question given the modest cost increases that they create versus a flat or a vertical panel. It costs more to blow glass into vacuum panels than to acquire PV area.
Much of the developing world latched on to solar concentrator water heaters 10, 20, or 30 years ago, and they were common in a backpacking trip through China a decade back. It's good tech, depending on your climate, but it seems to have been superseded.
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.
Almost 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.
What 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.