On the analysis of an ecological regime for energy converters

In the context of Finite Time Thermodynamics, an ecological-like function is built based on the ecological and efficient power energy functions. By means of an optimization analysis of the Curzon–Alhborn heat engine with a Newtonian heat transfer law, a comparative study between our proposal and the maximum power, ecological and efficient power criteria is carried out. With this different approach, contrasted to the other regimes, there is an increase in efficiency, and it results in a decrease in the maximum power output and the dissipation. The analysis is extended to a Müser engine, and an example related with solar energy converters is presented. In addition, a semi-analytical method is used to obtain approximate formulas for certain thermal efficiencies, which are usually obtained numerically and no analytic expressions are given.