SkyTrough uses a polymer-and-silver layered mirror-film called ReflecTech instead of conventional glass mirrors for its reflective surface.
Tests at the the NREL showed it to have a thermal efficiency of more than 73% at 350°C, meaning nearly three quarters of the solar radiation striking the trough is turned into thermal energy.
This high thermal efficiency — which compares closely to that of conventional glass mirrors — comes from the combination of the optical efficiency of the trough’s mirror-film (how well it focuses sunlight) and the receiver heat loss.
The