I think a basic thermodynamics lesson might be useful for evaluating these things. It's good to have a physical model that helps you generate heuristics like 'heating a small amount of somewthing by a thousand degrees is better than heating a hundred times more up by ten'.
"There’s been research recently into a version of pumped hydro that can be done at smaller scale, called GLIDES. Instead of putting the reservoir at the top of a hill, you put it in a pressurized vessel. This is a form of pumped hydro that you could build anywhere, even on flat ground."
Oooh. Is there any more on this? I take it the water itself stores the thermal energy from compressing the air and then releases it when it's released, hence the higher efficiency?
I think a basic thermodynamics lesson might be useful for evaluating these things. It's good to have a physical model that helps you generate heuristics like 'heating a small amount of somewthing by a thousand degrees is better than heating a hundred times more up by ten'.
"There’s been research recently into a version of pumped hydro that can be done at smaller scale, called GLIDES. Instead of putting the reservoir at the top of a hill, you put it in a pressurized vessel. This is a form of pumped hydro that you could build anywhere, even on flat ground."
Oooh. Is there any more on this? I take it the water itself stores the thermal energy from compressing the air and then releases it when it's released, hence the higher efficiency?