research

• Design of a 2.5kW Low Temperature Stirling Engine for Distributed Solar Thermal Generation (2011)-

  This research paper comes from Mike He and Seth Sandersy of the University of California – Berkeley. It reports on their efforts to design a Stirling engine for distributed solar thermal applications.

• Diagnosis of Solar Water Heaters Using Solar Storage Tank Surface Temperature Data (2009)-

  This technical paper comes from Jay Burch and Lee Magnuson of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It is an analysis of the efficiency of thermal storage in solar thermal water heating systems being used in residential settings.

• Solar Thermoelectric Energy Conversion (2011)-

  This presentation covers solar thermoelectric energy conversion. It was first presented at the 2011 Thermoelectrics Application Workshop in San Diego, California.

• Economic Impact of Solar Thermal Electricity Deployment in Spain (2006)-

  Given a "favourable regulatory framework" for the deployment of solar thermal power plants currently exists in Spain, this study from 2006 estimates the economic impacts of solar thermal power plants and the impact derived from the compliance of the solarthermal power objectives stated by the Spanish Renewable Energies Plan 2005-10.

  Using a socio-economic analysis (using gross added value, and employment generation) the study finds that:

• Impact of Domestic Solar Water Heating on an Energy Audit of a Residence in Malta (2008)-

  This short document produced by the Institute for Energy Technology of the University of Malta, presents the results of a study undertaken to investigate the energy consumption of a duplex apartment, using, for that purpose, different energy auditing techniques. In Malta, the domestic sector takes over 36% of the total energy consumption in the country. The highest demand rates are verified in summer due to space cooling.

• Concentrating Solar Power from Research to Implementation - This document from 2007, released by the European Commission, refers projects, financed under the 6th EU Research Framework Programme (FP6), to boost the use of solar power technologies in Europe, as a part of the EU’s goal of achieving 20% share of renewable energies inits overall energy consumption by 2020 and a minimum 10% share of biofuels in overall EU transport petrol and diesel consumption by 2020. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is a clean energy that can help the EU to meet this 20% goal.
• Sputtered Nanocrystalline Nickel Thin Films for Solar Thermal Energy Applications (2009)-

  This document from American Scientific Publishers, (2009) states that the optical properties of sputtered nickel thin films and nanocrystalline materials are important in solar thermal energy applications.

  Optical constants of sputtered nickel thin films were analysed in this work using spectroscopic infrared ellipsometry in the wavelength region from 1.5 μm to 30 μm as a function of film thickness.

• Economic Analysis of Solar Water Heaters in GuangZhou (2006)-

  As a mature applied technology, the largest obstacle to the promotion of the solar water heater is the high initial investment that makes an impact on consumers’ choices.

  The initial investment and maintenance cost of the solar water heater, gas water heater and electrical water heater in Guangzhou was compared and the Annual Cost Calculation Method (ACCM) was used to explain the remarkable economic benefits of solar water heaters.

• Framework Conditions for Solar Thermal Energy Use in the Southern Mediterranean Countries-

  SOLATERM is a project funded by the EU 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP6).

  This 2007 report provides a very good overview of the market situations in the 8 participating Mediterranean countries. It is a very useful document for policy-makers wanting an overview of recent legislative frameworks, financial incentives and market potential for growth.

• Almeria Solar Platform Center - Annual Report (2007)- The Almeria Solar Platform (PSA) is a European test facility center developed by the CIEMAT Spanish Center for Energy, Environment and Technological Research, devoted to the development of concentrating solar technologies in Spain.
• Austria: Professor Faninger Receives Decoration for his 30 Years of Solar Research- Pioneer of renewable energies in Austria: Professor Gerhard Faninger from the University of Klagenfurt received the Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria. Photo: Bärbel Epp
  

• Simulation Based Design Methods and Economical Analysis for Solar Driven Absorption Cooling Systems (2006)-

  This paper produced by British and German researchers in 2006 sets out to correlate the collector area with cooling power and energy demand in absorption cooling systems.

  The paper demonstrates that buildings with the same maximum cooling power, but very different load time series, require collector areas to vary by a factor 4 to achieve the same solar fraction.

• Applications of Solar Heat for Temperatures Ranging from 50 – 2000°C (2008)-

  This paper was presented at the 5th European Thermal-Sciences Conference which tool place in The Netherlands in 2008. The major application of solar thermal relates to domestic and industrial water and space heating which require relatively low temperatures.

• Solar desalination with humidification-dehumidification cycle: Review of economics (2006)-

  This report from 2006 analyses how by combining the principle of humidification-dehumidification with solar desalination results in an increase in the overall efficiency of the desalination plant, and therefore appears to be the best method of water desalination with solar energy.

  A detailed study of the mechanism of this process is presented in this report, along with an economical evaluation of the process.

• The Solar Thermal Market in Cyprus-

  A comprehensive overview of the Cypriot market for solar thermal technology, this document taken from Sun in Action 1 (published 1996) provides an overview of the following aspects of the nation’s market: