The invention relates to a solar energy conversion appliance for the simultaneous recovery of electrical and thermal energy, said appliance consisting of a device for optically concentrating sunlight, solar cells and heat sinks for said solar cells, whereby the heating of a heat carrier medium flowing through the heat sinks takes place in stages and the solar cells are distributed to temperature stages in such a way that increasing temperatures are coupled with tandem solar stages, consisting of at least one solar cell, in such a way that band energies rise in the same way as temperatures.