Optimum operating temperature and efficiency of solar thermal power systems

Abstract

In this paper, finite-time thermodynamics has been applied to solar heat engines in order to find the optimum operating temperature for solar thermal power systems. The percentage difference between optimum operating temperatures based on Curzon-Ahlborn (CA) efficiency and classical Carnot efficiency has been presented. This analysis has also been used to find the upper bound on efficiency for a wide range of the operating temperatures characterising various solar thermal power systems.