Convective Energy Conversion Cycle
Summary
A new energy cycle is proposed for the efficient conversion
of heat into electricity using natural convection. Solar
energy or combustion produces warm gases which rise because
of their buoyancy. If the current of warm gases is suitably
contained it can drive a turbine. If the configuration is
structured as a closed cycle, post turbine air which is
cooler, falls under gravitation to repeat the cycle. Thus
buoyancy is the expander, gravity is the compressor and
there is no energy sink in the Convective Energy Conversion
Cycle (CECC). The author asserts that this configuration is
not subject to the Carnot efficiency limit; it is the First
Law of Thermodynamics, the Principle of Conservation of
Energy that applies giving a theoretical efficiency for the
conversion of heat into electricity of up to 100 per cent.
CECC was devised for conversion of solar energy into
electricity in large scale solar collectors. Subsequently
the author has come across three instruments from nineteenth
century physics that each employs CECC. In each case light
is converted into mechanical energy with anomalously high
efficiency. They provide a proof of concept. An adaptation
of CECC for the conversion of natural gas into electricity
in power stations is described. But its main application
will be in harnessing solar energy. An experimental approach
is outlined that could lead to large scale, low level,
sealed glass dome structures that will convert solar energy
into electricity at a fraction of the cost of other solar
technologies and cheaper than from fossil fuels.