Concentrated Solar Panel System

Concentrated solar power csp also known as concentrating solar power concentrated solar thermal systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a receiver.

Concentrated solar panel system.

For residential and commercial property owners solar photovoltaic panels are the best way to harness the sun s energy for use. Concentrated solar thermal systems csp are not the same as photovoltaic panels. Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity either directly using photovoltaics pv indirectly using concentrated solar power or a combination concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Generally concentrated solar power is not installed at a residential scale and instead will almost always be installed over a large area as a utility scale generating facility.

One that collects solar energy and converts it to heat and another that converts the heat energy to electricity. A brief video showing how concentrating solar power works using a parabolic trough system as an example is available from the department of energy solar energy technologies web site. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic effect. The plants consist of two parts.

Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat solar thermal energy which drives a heat engine usually a steam turbine connected to an electrical power. Here in we review basic solar energy facts of competing solar technologies csp vs pv.