<DrumBeat: May 25, 2007 The Oil Drum DrumBeat: May 26, 2007>

92 comments on Wednesday at Clean Tech 2007

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thomas deplume on May 25, 2007 - 7:09pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Carnot efficiency in solar power systems is not as important as dollar efficiency. Flat plate solar thermal can easily provide 100C temps which can be cheaply stored for long periods of time. A lower carnot efficiency does lead to the need for larger equipment for each watt of output. Wind turbines are a good example of a large device with poor thermal efficiency but excellent dollar efficiency.

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Gilgamesh on May 25, 2007 - 9:08pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Wind turbines make a poor counterpoints, with a maximum efficiency of 59% (Betz law), of which 45% is typically achieved.

Wind turbines DO NOT WORK on thermal principals.

Make sure you do not confuse Thermal differentials with Kinetic energy differentials.

Thank you.

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thomas deplume on May 26, 2007 - 2:30pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

First thermal differentials create the wind. Second careful measurements show a temperature difference between upwind and downwind spaces around the blades.

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92 comments on Wednesday at Clean Tech 2007

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