The working principle of the organic Rankine cycle is the same as that of the Rankine cycle: the working fluid is pumped to a boiler where it is evaporated, passed through an expansion device (turbine, screw, scroll, or other expander), and then through a condenser heat exchanger where it is finally re-condensed.

An organic Rankine cycle (ORC), is fundamentally the same as a steam Rankine cycle; however, it uses a lower boiling point organic fluid to better match its operation to lower temperature heat sources. ORC systems can achieve better efficiencies than steam turbines for smaller systems (less than a few MW_e).

The Organic Rankine Cycle's principle is based on a turbogenerator working as a conventional steam turbine to transform thermal energy into mechanical energy and finally into electric energy through an electrical generator.

A system that uses the Rankine cycle has four parts: a pump, a boiler, a turbine and a condenser. The pump's job is to deliver liquid to the boiler. The boiler's job is to heat the liquid and turn it to vapor. The vapor is then used to power a turbine.