ORC Efficiency

An ORC system’s efficiency is the fraction of the heat it receives that becomes electricity, and it is always modest on paper, often in the teens of percent. But that framing misses the point: the heat it converts would otherwise be vented, so even a low efficiency on free heat is pure gain. Understanding the thermodynamics is how you know whether a given cycle is doing its job.

What Sets the Efficiency

• The temperature difference, the gap between the heat source and the cooling sink, which is the fundamental driver.
• The working fluid, whose boiling point and properties must match the heat source.
• The components, turbine, pump and heat exchangers, each with its own losses.

Why Efficiency Isn’t the Whole Story

A higher-temperature heat source allows a more efficient cycle, which is why ORC is often paired with the highest-grade stream available. But the true performance metric is recovered output per unit of heat, not raw efficiency, since the fuel is already spent. A well-matched low-temperature ORC that recovers 12 percent of a large, otherwise-wasted stream can far out-earn a higher-efficiency cycle on a tiny source.

Learn More:

• Biomass Energy Plant
• Feasibility Studies

Size the Cycle to the Heat, Not the Brochure

Klean Industries applies ORC thermodynamics to each heat source, maximising recovered output rather than chasing an efficiency number.

Contact Klean Industries about ORC efficiency » GO.