<p>The success of developing affordable, renewable electricity via photovoltaics has created interest in the possibility of using solar technology to generate other types of energy. The use of concentrated solar power (CSP) in tandem with selective solar coatings (SSCs) allows for the production of high-temperature solar process heat by increasing irradiation intensity and preventing re-radiation. The proposed method provides a framework for identifying ideal operating parameters of the CSP/SSC device to allow for easy integration of SSCs into system design. The method includes finite-element analysis, numerical modeling based on a first-law thermodynamic analysis, and curve fitting to define ideal SSC cutoff wavelength for a system. Several formulas are evaluated as a potential model, ultimately leading to the selection of a simple, accurate equation which defines cutoff wavelength as a function of temperature and concentration, allowing the method to be applied to a wide variety of CSP/SSC applications (150).</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>