|
18 m^2... that's a lot of shiny. It should definitely be used to concentrate sunlight, but for what? Solar thermal is relatively cheap and easy, but 18m^2 is probably more than enough to heat your house and provide you with hot water.
If you can generate high enough temperatures, you can attach a heat engine + generator and cogenerate electricity and warm water, which would make it useful year-round. It also adds enormously to the expense and complexity, which probably makes it unsuitable for a small-scale project like this one.
Come to think of it, your best bet might be to use half of the mirror array to concentrate light onto solar thermal collectors, and half onto PV panels. So, what Neil said. ;-)
|