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JumpCrisscrossyesterday at 10:26 PM2 repliesview on HN

Fundamentally, a direct device has fewer transformation losses.


Replies

stubishyesterday at 11:39 PM

That is assuming your boiler uses resistive heating to generate heat and not heat pumps to move heat.

scytheyesterday at 11:38 PM

Solar desalination looks pretty good in terms of efficiency. The problem is that the solar energy must now be collected at the shoreline. This means that a lot of coastal real estate gets turned into a desalination plant. Alternatively, you transport the water, but pumping seawater requires corrosion and fouling resistant materials throughout the system.