Comment Re:home use? (Score 1) 270
You could possibly build a micro turbine or and array of such for power generation, it would be a pretty expensive undertaking so the payback ratio would suck. A better use might be for heating and cooking purposes. The advantages of using a "salt" storage solution are mostly temperature -MAX DEG- and size-BTU/FT3-related. Another material that works well in such a storage application is a liquid metal such as tin/antimony solder. I would think that the best heat transfer medium between collector and storage would be a high temperature silicon oil or maybe paraffin. It would be nice I think to be able to use such to power cooking devices such as ovens and ranges where the ideal temperature requirements could exceed most practical air or water based solar systems. The temperatures here are so far above most home heating needs -except steam based- that the only real advantage would be storage size advantages. It might work very well for adsorption process chillers or refrigerators, these could be fun to build but last I knew used dangerous unstable and/or toxic mediums such ammonia or lithium bromide, maybe some safer compounds are available today.
wabi-sabi
matthew