efficiency

This design manual was created by the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which focuses on fostering sustainable growth in developing countries. This specific project is the serpentine solar water heating system.

This case study was written by Jason Kirchoff et. al. of the University of Southern California School of Architecture. It analyzes the efficiency of a year round solar thermal heating and cooling system in a commercial building in Los Angeles, California.

This is a fact sheet on solar thermal water heating from the Texas State Energy Conservation Office. It explains the different types of solar water heater systems and how they work.

Passive systems require no moving parts as compared to active systems which do. This makes them simpler to maintain but less efficient. Active systems come in both direct and indirect; direct being the more efficient but often suffering from mineral deposits called scaling. At the bottom of the fact sheet is a list of resources with further and more detailed information.

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

This presentation from the University of Texas discusses new ways to utilize and store solar thermal energy more efficiently. It analyzes the benefits that heat storage can bring to various solar thermal systems in different situations and in different locations of the United States.

This presentation discusses the main benefits that using solar thermal energy can bring to a business. With charts and other interesting info-graphics, it compares the potential of solar thermal energy to the use of gasoline, coal, oil and uranium. Comparing future costs and output levels, it shows the inherent advantages of installing solar thermal energy systems.

This presentation was created by Roger Taylor of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It was used at the NAEMI Solar Electric & Thermal Training Workshop in 2006. Solar thermal water and air heating are the main topics of the presentation.

37 commercially installed solar thermal systems of between 50 and 500 m² received subsidies in Thailand over the last two years. Nevertheless, the sector shows a lack of professional service to operate these solar systems at an optimum efficiency.
Photo: STA

Roberto Best from the Mexican Centro de Investigación en Energía of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México produced, in 2007, this paper reviewing recent developments on thermal cooling systems, with special emphasis being added to cogeneration applications. The document also presents results of a study undertook by the same University on absorption cooling systems and ejector cooling systems.

This document, from 1999, provides an overview of key solar thermal applications - parabolic troughs, power towers and dish/engine systems - their characteristics, the kind of application they are best suited for, system performance, technologic comparison, together with a cost vs. value analysis.